Lover's Remorse
by starchaserxonea
Summary: Lucy's afflicted by a powerful curse on a mission with Team Natsu. Will she be able to beat it? Or will she have to succumb to the curse and it's consequences? Rated T for language. All rights go to Hiro Mashima.
1. Puzzle Pieces

_Thought I'd try something out. I have no idea where this is going, but I thought I'd throw it to you guys and maybe let you decide if I should continue it or not. Sorry if this seems rushed or whatever, but my sister just got out of the hospital and it's gotten pretty hectic around here, plus school starts in a week lol. So, thank you all for your lovely reviews on my other stories; it's really made me happy. 3_

* * *

Lucy wasn't feeling well today. It was cold outside and she felt like she might be catching a cold, or maybe the flu – but at the same time she felt fine. Sighing, she stepped out of her front door and wrapped the black scarf around her neck a little tighter. The blonde girl headed in the direction of her guild, just staying on the sidewalk today. As she got closer and closer to the guild, she began to feel even more ill. Like there was something pressing on her chest and making it hard to breathe. Coughing, she stepped into the guild hall and immediately stumbled, nearly falling. Mira was the only one here (that was awake), since it was so early, and she rushed over to Lucy.

"Lucy, are you okay?" She asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. Lucy nodded weakly and the alabaster-haired mage helped her to the bar, and Lucy felt like she might faint at this point. Mira put her slender hand against her forehead, which was red, and frowned. "You're burning up," She murmured, pulling away and stepping into the kitchen for a moment. Lucy groaned softly and put her head on her arm, feeling like she was going to keel over and die in any moment. Her head was pounding, her chest felt heavy, her breathing was shallow, she was clammy, and she felt this weird sensation on her back, like it was burning, but not painfully so. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a _clink _right next to her head. She winced, but sat up and smiled thankfully at Mira, who just nodded and smiled worriedly.

Lucy brought the green mug to her lips and sipped the tea, only to start coughing wildly. She set the cup down immediately, ignoring when the hot liquid sloshed over and burnt her cold fingers. Mira squeaked and hopped over the bar, holding her shoulders as she coughed. Someone groaned loudly from the middle of the guild hall from their previous brawl and he sat up, yawning loudly. Lucy had finally calmed her coughing down and she was just sitting on the bar stool with her hands fisted on her lap, and her eyes were closed.

"What the hell is with all this racket?" Gray muttered, standing up and stumbling over to the bar, sitting down heavily next to Lucy. Only then did he notice her shaking body and a concerned Mira standing in front of her. "Lucy? What's wrong?" He asked, setting a cold hand on her shoulder blade. She shuddered and shook her head.

"I-I'm okay –" She broke off with a sharp, wet cough and she turned away from Mira and laid her head against the cold countertop. Gray shot Mira a concerned look mouthing, _what's up? _Mira shrugged her shoulders, but her eyebrows were scrunched together and she was frowning, obviously worried. She hopped back over the bar and pulled the tea away from her.

"Lucy, are you hungry?" She asked softly, causing Lucy to shake her head softly.

"No, I'm fine, Mira, thank you…" She murmured and her voice cracked when she said Mira. Gray leaned onto the counter and met Lucy's gaze.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently, setting his hand back on her shoulder. She shook her head.

"I don't know, honestly. Since yesterday I've been feeling shitty, but today it just got really bad," She mumbled, and then started coughing again. Gray rubbed her back soothingly. Lucy smiled thankfully at him. "Don't worry about me –" A loud cough interrupted her, and she buried her face in her arm, before she continued. "I'll be just fine."

Gray wasn't yet convinced, but decided to let it go, and he removed his hand. That's when he heard the loud yawn. Their resident fire mage sat up, after pushing a table off of him, and stretched. Gray and Natsu's eyes met, and the latter grinned wickedly, pushing himself up off of the ground. Lucy bit her lip to keep from coughing again.

"Gray, let's fight!" Gray grinned and went to remove his shirt, only to find that it wasn't there. Shrugging, he jumped off of the barstool and went into his Ice Make: position, and wagged his eyebrows.

"Come and get me, flame brain!" He taunted, and Natsu charged at Gray. Time seemed to slow down for Lucy. Slowly, her vision started to very fuzzy as Natsu came closer and closer to Gray. Her heartbeat seemed to be slowing. She lifted her head to look at those two as they charged, and suddenly, coughed loudly. Natsu got even closer, and she cried out in pain because it felt like something was stabbing her side. Mira was at Lucy's side in an instant.

"Lucy? Lucy! What's wrong?! What's hurting?" She started to fret; taking in Lucy's pained face, glazed expression and shallow breathing. Lucy swallowed heavily and leaned against the bar. Gray and Natsu had stopped fighting and were now staring at Lucy, concerned.

"Lucy, your heartbeat is weak," Natsu said, worry coating his voice. Lucy shook her head, and suddenly she doubled over, clutching her chest. The other guild members were now awake, but she had yet to notice. Her hearing was dimming and she couldn't really tell if anyone was talking.

_What is going on with me?_

She was suddenly dragged back to awareness when a burning-hot hand touched her shoulder. Lucy arched her back and let out a cry, and the hand flinched away, and she slumped in moderate relief.

"Lucy?" A timid voice asked. She cracked a single eyelid open to see the concerned face of her best friend – Natsu. Something in the back of her mind was screaming to run – _he _was causing this pain. Lucy went to deny it… when suddenly, the puzzle pieces clicked together.

* * *

_Natsu and Lucy were running through the swampy area, tracking down that damn monster that had evaded them earlier. Gray was running after a different one and Happy was taking Erza to get an s-plug car so they could get home quicker, when Natsu suddenly grabbed Lucy to pull her to a sudden stop. She skidded in the mud and nearly fell over. Confused, she glanced back at the pink-haired boy, only to see him glaring into the shadows._

"_Come out; now," He growled and moved protectively in front of Lucy. She pressed against his back, ready to be back-up if needed, when a figure seemed to come out of the shadows of the trees. He was dark-skinned, had silver irises and was quite tall; almost even in height with Natsu. She stared at him warily. He chuckled darkly and stared at Natsu before his gaze moved to Lucy. She shivered because his gaze felt like a snake was running across her. His grin widened – almost as if he was enjoying making her uncomfortable… which he probably was. His gaze slithered back over to Natsu, who stiffened._

"_It seems the rumors are true; the salamander does indeed have a great nose," He commented. Lucy frowned and spoke up randomly._

"_That's a weird way to start a conversation," He smiled at her and his finger twitched. Lucy's spine arched and she squirmed uncomfortably – it felt like something was crawling up her back._

"_I suppose so, little blonde," He murmured and his eyes pierced into hers', almost as if he was searching for something. She glanced away awkwardly at the intimate stare._

"_Shut up and fight me!" Natsu ordered, and in true Natsu fashion, he barreled towards the enemy. Lucy barely had time to scream a warning when suddenly he was gone. She glanced around worriedly and beckoned for Natsu to come closer. Just as he was moving towards her, the man appeared behind Lucy and grabbed her, almost gently, and locked her chin in his grasp, jerking it up so that the back of her head was pressed against his shoulder. She growled deep in her throat and the man smiled, meeting her eyes. Natsu was yelling something, but his voice seemed to die away. She frowned._

"_Lover's Remorse," He whispered, and she felt something odd in her stomach, almost as if she was sick. Lucy frowned up at him._

"_What?" She muttered through grit teeth. He just smiled and his eyes sparkled._

"_All's fair in love and war," He murmured and his teeth grazed her ear. She shuddered, and then suddenly, he was gone. Natsu was hovering over her protectively in the next moment, but she didn't feel right._

* * *

She gritted her teeth against the unbearable pain and closed her eyes, barely containing her tears, and turned her face away from Natsu's.

"Please get me away from him, Mira. Quickly," She whispered. Mira was confused, but did as she was asked, and picked Lucy up bridal-style. Doing so caused Lucy to be that much closer to Natsu, who was now staring at her with a hurt expression, which she tried to ignore. "L-Levy," She gasped, and Mira yelled it to the crowd that had gathered around. A bluenette quickly stumbled through the crowd of worried guild mates and followed them to the door, where Lucy's breathing was already getting better. Natsu noticed that her heartbeat was also getting stronger, and he frowned, not understanding. He scrunched his brows together and stared at her as she was carried out of the front door, and he sat down on the floor with one burning question on his mind.

_Am I breaking Lucy's heart?_

* * *

_I think this was fun to write, and I don't know if it'll end up NaLu or LaLu or LoLu or, hell, even GrayLu. xD But LoLu and GrayLu are highly unlikely :P Thanks guys – reviews are cookies! Leave me somememmee!_


	2. Forbidden Love

_Here's the second installment of Lover's Remorse! I'm not too confident about this chapter, so tell me what you guys think! _

* * *

Lucy was on the outskirts of Magnolia in the woods when some of her pain finally subsided. It was nowhere near completely gone… but it was getting there. Her voice was already stronger and her breathing much steadier, but her body still felt like it was stomped on by a dragon, and she still had a pounding headache, along with stabbing pains.

"M-Mira, this is okay, we can stop," She mumbled, and Mira sat her down gently, and the young blonde leaned her back heavily against a tree, tugging off the black scarf with the hand that wasn't clutching the grass. She turned to Levy and regarded the bluenette seriously, her brown orbs blinking away tears of pain. "I know what's wrong, or what _might _be the cause of this," She muttered, gritting her teeth as another spike of pain racked her body. She gripped her side uselessly and let out a shuddering breath. Mira frowned and sat down on the grass next to her, gesturing for Levy to do the same. When everyone was seated, the alabaster-haired girl frowned.

"What's the cause of this, then?" Mira asked as Lucy rubbed her temple softly and sighed.

"The other day, remember the job we took? Okay, well, at the end right before we drove home, Natsu and I ran off to go find a monster that had run off and we were alone. Happy had flown Erza to the rental place and Gray had gone off to search for another thing that had disappeared. So, when we ran off… we encountered this guy," Lucy frowned and searched for the right words to describe him. "He was… well, to put it bluntly, he was _creepy. _He reminded me of a damn snake. And he used a weird magic where he could disappear and reappear where he wanted to, and he did this when Natsu charged at him, and he reappeared behind me. He grabbed me, but he was, oddly enough, gentle, and he put… I think he put a curse on me," She muttered, staring off into the distance. Lucy had just made this observation now, but looking back, but it made sense. "He called it 'Lover's Remorse' and right before he disappeared altogether, he said 'all's fair in love and war,'" She mumbled. Levy and Mira exchanged knowing looks and smiled gently at Lucy.

"Lucy… honey…" Mira said sweetly, grabbing Lucy's still-sore hand. "You like Natsu and your enemy obviously picked up on that," Lucy sputtered at Mira's words and fought off a blush.

"I-I don't like him l-like that!" She hissed, snatching her hand away and cringing when she did so. Sighing, she dropped her head back and let it hit the bark of the tree. "Well maybe I do. But I just… he's my best friend, and now I get sick even being within the same city as him? Hell – I'm technically out of the city, but it's still affecting me dramatically." Lucy complained and met Mira and Levy's gazes evenly. "But even if I do love him," Mira squealed softly and wiggled "I can't be near him to even tell him, and he can't come near me unless he wants to… to kill me."

Levy frowned and grabbed Lucy's hand. "So I'm guessing you want me to research this curse, Lu-chan?" She asked, staring into Lucy's eyes sympathetically. The blonde girl nodded her head and winced when her neck cracked. Levy squeezed her hand and then pulled away. She stood up and dusted off her orange dress, smiling at the two girls. "I'm going to go ahead and head back to research, be safe, Lu-chan, Mira." She nodded and smiled.

"Wait, Levy!" Lucy yelled, and her friend stopped and looked back, squinting in the morning sunlight. "Tell Natsu that I have a curse – but don't tell him what it is. Just explain what it does. Please?" She asked, and Levy nodded before running off towards Fairy Tail. Lucy smiled at Mira, who was staring at the young blonde with a sad look in her blue eyes.

"This is a forbidden love story, Lucy, it's so cute, but so sad," She whispered, her eyes filling with tears and Lucy started giggling, even though she agreed with her, partially.

"Don't be silly, Mira, it's nothing that dramatic. I'm sure Levy will find some leads eventually, and then all will be well in the world. You can head back to the guild; by the way, I'll be fine." Mira frowned, but nodded and stood up. She went to turn around, but hesitated and glanced back at the younger girl, tossing a communication lacrima next to her; it landed on the grass with a small thump.

"If you need help at all, call the guild, okay? And I'll send Gray out to keep you company." Lucy nodded and smiled gratefully up at Mira, who ran down the path back to the guild. Sighing, Lucy slumped heavily against the tree and ended up sliding onto her side, where she moved her aching body into a relatively comfortable sleeping position. Lucy knew that falling asleep in the middle of the forest on a main pathway probably wasn't the smartest thing she could do – especially in her condition – but she didn't really care anymore and slowly, the sunny morning faded into a comforting black.

* * *

Natsu was still sitting on the floor, still contemplating how he could've hurt her, when Levy burst through the guild doors and ran straight towards the library.

_Levy?_

Before he knew what he was doing, he was in the library as well, standing at the top of the stairs. Levy looked up at him curiously and her expression immediately grew sad; she set down the books she'd been holding. He furrowed his brows and hopped over the railing, landing at the bottom of the ten-foot drop easily.

"L-Levy? What did I do? Is she okay?" The pink-haired boy asked timidly. Natsu had never been better friends with anyone in his life, excluding Lisanna and Happy, and he was honestly scared of losing her. He didn't want to feel that horrible, empty feeling again… like what happened with Lisanna. Levy looked grim, and she turned her face away from him to grab more books.

"You didn't do anything, Natsu… that guy you two fought on your last mission? He cursed her." She spoke briskly, picking out another pile of books and scrolls, setting them gently on the table. Meanwhile, Natsu felt anger boiling within him and he wanted to go kill up the bastard that did this to _his best friend. _

"What was the curse?" He hissed through clenched teeth. She glanced over at him, worried. Levy walked over and grabbed his arm, pulling him up the stairs and out of the library, muttering something about fire and books. She brought him near the library door, so that there was a pillar blocking them from the rest of the nosy guild, and she began explaining what she meant.

"Anytime she comes near you, or vice versa, she'll experience extreme pain, and if you touch her for too long, it could possibly kill her. I'm about to go research it more… but, Natsu… you have to calm down. This is something only research can beat, okay?" His whole body was very hot – hotter than usual; almost smoking – and even though he was a Fairy Tail mage… Natsu honestly felt the horrible, dark feeling that meant he could literally kill someone, particularly the asshole that did this.

"I… okay…" He muttered, glaring at the ground and clenching his already fisted hands even tighter. "This isn't something I can go beat up for her." Levy reached up and grasped his shoulder, giving him a sunny smile, though it seemed a little forced. The bluenette was very surprised with the maturity he was showing; Natsu was the type to punch and ask questions later, not contemplate the enemy.

"It'll be okay, Natsu. I'll get Freed to help me with more research when he gets back from his mission with the Rajinshuu, and then we can go even faster." She squeezed his toned shoulder and then walked back to the library, leaving a sad Natsu in her wake. All he wanted to do was go to her house and lay on her bed – just to feel like he was with her. He slowly walked back to the guild hall and sat down heavily on the floor, not even bothering to go to their usual table. Happy warily walked up to him and held out a fish.

"Will this make you feel better, Natsu?" He asked in that cute, high-pitched voice. Natsu let his lips twitch upwards at the corners and he patted Happy on the head, laughing softly.

"It'll make me happier to see you eat it," Happy grinned and stuffed the fish into his mouth.

"Shurrhaaynoow?" Natsu grinned and nodded, understanding what he said perfectly - _You're happy now? _The cat smiled and flew over to Erza and sat down next to her plate – still full of cake – and started munching with her. Natsu looked away and sighed. That's when Mira came flying into the guild and hopping back into barmaid-mode, smiling sunnily.

"Gray, go to Lucy – she's on the outskirts of town. The bars open guys, sorry about that!" Gray nodded and ran out of the guild, whilst Cana immediately screamed for alcohol – any kind, apparently, since she was in "withdrawal." Natsu stood up and walked over to the bar hesitantly and sat down, waiting for Mira to finish taking orders before he bothered her. When she finally came over to him, her face grew sad and she smiled softly at him.

"Natsu," She murmured, grabbing a dish rag and a tankard, and started scrubbing it mechanically, occasionally glancing at him nervously. He was just staring at the table silently; a very un-Natsu-like thing to do.

"Yea, Mira?" He responded, picking at his thumbs. She set her pale hand over his and he looked up in surprise.

"She'll be okay," She promised, linking her pinky finger with his. He raised an eyebrow at the childish action, but returned the pressure and smiled a genuine grin at her.

"She can't be anything _but _okay," He agreed, and they unlinked their hands and she continued to scrub at the already-shiny mug. "Hey, Mira, do you think Wendy could be of any help to her?" He asked, glancing up at her. She cocked her head and shrugged her slender shoulders.

"It's possible, but she's off on a mission with Gajeel and Juvia." Natsu looked around and noticed the absence of the three for the first time – well, four, if you count Carla. He sighed and looked back down at the table, nodding. Wakaba yelled drunkenly for another refill and as Mira was passing, she patted his pink head gently. Natsu laid his head down on his arm and eventually dozed off thinking about a certain celestial mage.

* * *

Gray ran the way Mira had pointed and saw the flash of golden hair blowing in the breeze almost immediately. He slowed his run to a walk and sighed in relief, seeing her sleeping was certainly better than being awake and in pain. He sat down next to her and carefully lifted her head to set it on his lap, then leaned back against the tree that she was by. She murmured in her sleep and winced, then relaxed. He set his cold hand on her head and sighed, staring up at the blue sky.

"What the hell happened to you, Lucy?"

* * *

_A/N: I thought this was fun to write. By the way, y'all, Gray and Lucy's relationship in this is going to be purely platonic; probably brother-and-sister-like, because I feel like she should have a guy friend that isn't a romantic interest... and I'm completely and utterly dedicated to Gruvia. And I agree with everyone – NaLu all the way. It would make the most sense, and would be the most fun. Reviews are cookies, bros (but only chocolate chip cause… yea). ;)_

**Fairy-Tail's-Dragon: **_Thanks! ;)_

**Animation art2000-2013:**_Here is more! :3_

**xXxSatasixXx: **_I agree with you that it should be NaLu all the way – which it will be. Thank you very much for your input! _

**JcL107: **_:D Thanks! _


	3. Brok and Loopholes

_Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. Wat. Anyways… I hope you all like this chappy! xD Remember: reviews is the nectar of the gods in my mind (aka, cookies… or coffee… or hot Cheetos…)! 3_

* * *

Levy was staring at the scattered scrolls around her, when one still on the top shelf caught her eye – '_Forbidden Spells.' _Levy frowned – a book she hasn't yet read? She quickly hopped over the table and grabbed the ladder, climbing up to the top shelf and grabbed the book delicately – something about it felt off. She frowned, but quickly slid down the ladder and walked slowly back to her table, running her fingers across the black, leather-bound cover. Something about this book felt ancient and strange.

The blue-haired mage set it down gently on the wooden table and stood in front of it with her hand on the edge of the cover, not really wanting to open it. Sighing, she dragged a chair over to her and sat down in it, then hesitantly flipped open the cover. Nothing happened. She chuckled at how silly she was being, and instead inspected the title page. Frowning, she only saw the title, no printing date or anything. She flipped the next page and saw every spell that was talked about in this book and, she breathed out a sigh of relief, it was in alphabetical order.

She quickly flipped the pages until she found the "L" section, and surprisingly found the curse: Lover's Remorse. Levy furrowed her brows and squinted at the small print, reading that it was on page 698-700. She quickly flipped to it and grabbed her red speed-reading glasses and started studying this peculiar curse.

_Lover's Remorse is a forbidden curse that causes someone who has strong feelings of love for a person to continue loving them, but it makes it physically impossible to be around the said person. Depending on the caster's strength, it could cause minor illness, extreme physical pain with close contact, or even being within a certain distance could weaken them greatly. And in one instance in particular, the dark mage Zeref was able to do all of these at once and he was able to add in the factor of the person's love being drawn to the one afflicted by the curse, thus causing the inevitable death of the receiver. _

_According to various sources he taught only one of his disciples this spell, and that mage went by the name of Brok. He was rumored to be a dark, light and shadow mage who was suspected to be the culprit of some 500 murders._

Levy put her small hand over her mouth in a silent gasp, but continued reading.

_Some even say he learned the secret of immortality, though there is no definite proof. According to various texts, after Zeref was sealed away, Brok broke off from the other disciples to find other ways to either bring Zeref back, or he went in search of different teachers to get stronger – we don't know for certain exactly what he did. _

_(See pages 213-216 for more information on Brok.)_

_Love's Remorse has no definite way of being broken, because it has never appeared enough times over the centuries to actually define a way to break it – and all of the times it has appeared, the one afflicted has always been a woman, and she's always died. According to scriptures, only two people knew this curse and one of them was sealed away for eternity and the other disappeared from history altogether. _

_All in all, Love's Remorse is one of the worst forbidden curses in the world, and that's why it was written out of all texts and books besides this particular one. If you do encounter this curse, try to find who did it; maybe they'll know how to stop it. But besides that, get far away from the person who makes you feel ill. _

Levy slammed the book in frustration and threw her glasses across the room.

"Dammit," She growled in a very un-Levy-like manner.

_I have to find out how to break this. For Lu-chan._

Levy slowly pried the book back open and immediately skipped to page 213 to read about Zeref's disciple, Brok. She flipped to it and immediately got greeted by an image of a tall, dark-skinned man with very pale irises. She started reading, forgetting to go pick up her glasses. When it gave her no information that helped – mentioning nothing of Lover's Remorse – she sighed heavily and slammed it shut again, and a cloud of dust billowed around her, causing her to cough.

"Well," She muttered, thinking aloud. She leaned forward on the book and rested her chin on her fist. "I know that only two people mastered the spell; and both were alive over 400 years ago…" She frowned and tapped her chin. "But… Brok supposedly discovered the secret to immortality… wait… you don't think…" Levy's eyes widened and she grabbed her bag and shoved the big book into it. "I have to go show this picture to Lu-chan!"

Levy sprinted out of the library, ignoring the curious glances thrown her way.

* * *

Lucy groaned loudly and cracked her eyes open, feeling something cold beneath her head. She turned her stiff neck to the side and rolled onto her back, wincing at the very sharp sting of pain that shot down her spine. Lucy felt so old. She sighed and looked up to see a dozing Gray and she smiled softly.

_I'll just let him sleep. _

Those were her thoughts, and she intended to follow them through… that is, until a relatively large spider crawled across her abdomen. She screeched and backed up quickly, adrenaline masking the pain, and started slapping her stomach harshly to get the blasted creature off. Gray jumped when Lucy landed on the other side of him with her legs of his lap. He frowned and glanced over at her shocked face, and she was panting slightly.

"Uh, you okay, Lucy?" She nodded her head fast and then groaned when the pain finally hit. She slumped against him and grit her teeth.

"Damn spider," She muttered, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood and cringing when a hollow pain radiated through her leg. Gray wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder and chuckled.

"Seriously? A spider?" He teased, watching the small, black arachnid scuttle away before disappearing into the grass. Lucy slapped his bare chest softly.

"Yes, seriously, a spider," She muttered. "The bastard was on my stomach! It freaked me out…" Her voice trailed off and she quit whining. Gray stopped laughing and instead patted her back.

"Fine, fine. Anywhere in particular you want to go?" He asked her, gaining a strange look from her. "What?" Lucy shrugged her shoulders and lifted her head, wincing at the pain that spiked across her forehead.

"I don't know – I haven't really been to too many places on a, per say, vacation. Just on jobs, so I wouldn't know where to go and I can't go back in town." She muttered, tapping her chin. Gray nodded and rubbed his chin with the hand that wasn't currently around her shoulders.

"Well, we could just chill here for a while until-" A yell cut him off, and his head snapped up. He saw a familiar blue-headed girl sprinting up the path holding a bag in her hands. She was in front of them in the next few seconds, and she was panting heavily. Levy dropped the bag and sat down next to it, pulling out a ridiculously over-sized – in Gray's opinion – leather-bound book. She quickly flipped to a page and then held out the book to Lucy, who took it hesitantly and let it fall heavily to her knees with a wince. She blanched when she saw the familiar face on the paper. Slowly, she met Levy's gaze.

"Where did you find this?" Levy coughed and scratched her head.

"I found the book in the library – I thought it might have information, which it does, but not much. Mostly it says to either find the person who cast the curse and get information from them, or just stay far away from the person that causes the pain." Lucy went to object but Levy cut her off. "Let me finish. It also says that the strength of the curse depends on the caster's strength… and according to the book, Lu-chan; the person who cursed you was very strong. And only two people in the world knew how to cast this…" Levy's voice trailed off and Lucy prodded her with her soft tone.

"Levy?"

"One of Zeref's disciples… and Zeref himself." She muttered, turning her gaze away from Lucy. The blonde girl went white completely white and she started shaking. Gray's jaw was agape and his eyes were wide in uncharacteristic look of shock.

"S-so… Levy…" Lucy held up the heavy book and pointed at the tall, well-built guy in the painting. "You're telling me that he's Zeref's disciple? Because he's the one who cursed me," She mumbled, throwing the open book down on the grass, not even wanting to touch it. Levy's eyes widened by a fraction, but nodded quickly, kind of already expecting this.

"I guess so… his name is Brok. He's one of Zeref's most beloved disciples and he was suspected to have had… well, not really suspected anymore – more like proven, to have discovered the secret to immortality." Lucy frowned and turned around so that she was sitting next to Gray instead of half-on-top of him. He took his arm back and set it on his lap. Lucy glanced at his hand and immediately looked up at his pensive face, angry at herself for blushing.

"Gray, where the hell did your pants go?" Gray sighed when he saw his black boxers and shrugged.

"It's whatever," He muttered and motioned for Levy to continue.

"Well… basically, he's immortal. What I'm trying to say is; how are we supposed to hunt him down? I mean, I found no useful information at all, and even if we did want to hunt him down, judging by what you told us, Lu-chan, he can disappear and reappear wherever." Lucy frowned and nodded.

"That's true, Levy…" She gasped and slapped her fist into her open palm, ignoring the heightening stinging sensation. "But Natsu could smell him! Dragon Slayer's have keen noses; so they could totally sniff him out." The bluenette nodded and tapped her chin.

"And we can send out three teams, one with Natsu leading, and another with Gajeel and one more with Wendy. We could start by heading to where you and Natsu were when you last saw him. This is good – this is a start…" She trailed off and started mumbling things. Suddenly she jumped to her feet and grabbed the book, shoving it in her bag roughly.

"Okay, Lu-chan, I'll go tell them what we've found out and I'll ask Natsu what the guy smelled like." She randomly gave Lucy a notebook and a piece of paper. "This is for writing or whatever, I guess, in case you get bored. Oh wait! Maybe you should try talking to Natsu on the communication lacrima!" Lucy smiled brightly at the idea of being able to see her friend again without feeling like death was about to sneak up behind and shank her.

"Great idea, Levy, thank you…" But Levy was already halfway down the path, sprinting. Lucy sighed and pulled out the lacrima and switching it on. Turning to Gray and noticing his tired expression, she pat her lap and he gratefully positioned himself so that her legs were cushioning his head. Almost immediately, he fell asleep.

"Call Fairy Tail," She said to the lacrima, and instantly, Mira's smiling face appeared.

"Lucy! Are you feeling better? Did Levy find out anything? Is Gray being good company? I'm really sorry about all of this – oh, I bet you're hungry! Maybe I could get Jet to bring you some food." She rambled, and Lucy cut her off with a smile.

"It's okay Mira, but I want to try something. Can I talk to Natsu?" Mira's eyes widened and she smacked her forehead.

"Why didn't I think of that?!" There was a bit of jostling and she heard Mira yelling. "Natsu, wake up!" She heard groaning and then a loud smash… then a squeak. Lucy scrunched her eyebrows together in worry. But before she had time to worry for too long, she was staring into a pair of beautiful onyx eyes that were wide with shock.

"L-Luce?" He asked hesitantly whilst yawning. Lucy felt some discomfort at looking at him, and her forehead spiked with pain every time he spoke – but it didn't feel anything like the near-death stuff she had felt earlier. She sighed and smiled, feeling happy for the first time since yesterday.

"Natsu! God, it's so good to talk to you again," She gushed, grinning widely and trying to ignore the pain in her jaw from doing so. Even though there was almost an entire city separating them, his presence was still affecting her. His face broke out into his signature carefree grin.

"Luce! How are you doing? Are you okay?" He asked, worry evident in his voice. She smiled gently at him.

"I-I'm okay, Natsu… I just can't be around you right now. Levy explained why, right?" Lucy was relieved when he nodded, and she felt a small weight lift off her shoulders. "Okay, good," She breathed, leaning back against the bark of the tree.

"Where are you?" He asked curiously, scratching his pink hair and taking the lacrima from Mira.

"Just on the other side of the city, right outside the border, but you can't come near me; in fact, don't leave Fairy Tail, please, at least not for right now." The blonde girl begged, and Natsu nodded immediately.

"Of course, I won't… especially if it'll ease the pain I'm causing, okay, Lucy?" He said, smiling at her, but there was a sad glint in his deep eyes. She sniffed and blinked away tears. She lightly touched the communication lacrima (_A/N: which is like the size of an iPhone in my mind) _with the tip of her finger and smiled lightly.

"You're not causing it Natsu; whoever did this to me caused it… you could never hurt me, 'cause we're best friends, right?" Her voice trailed to a whisper and the wind blew, causing her hair to flutter around her face. He grinned softly, but it faded quickly. Lucy frowned.

"It'll be okay, Natsu. I'll be fine soon enough – then you can stay at my apartment all the time, and I won't complain," He brightened up instantly and she giggled at the child-like reaction. "Okay I might complain a little, but I won't kick you anymore. Unless you intrude on my bath, then it's free game," She teased, and Natsu looked away bashfully. Lucy's smile faded into shock.

_I-is he… blushing?!_

He glanced back at her and stuck his tongue out, making her smile return, but her shock had yet to wear off… because that was really cute!

"Okay, Natsu, I have to go for now. But I'll call you back later, okay?" She offered and he shook his head yes. She smiled and waved slightly with two fingers and he got a serious expression and saluted her formally.

"Aye, sir!" She grinned and clicked the lacrima off, tossing it on the grass next to her and leaning back, letting her worry and anxiety flood her once again. She jumped when Gray grabbed her hand.

"You know he loves you, right?" She blushed heavily, but didn't pull her hand away.

"I don't know about that."

"Well, he does. He just doesn't know how to say it."

"Go back to sleep."

"I was planning to, but you woke me up with your incessant yapping." She smacked his raven-haired head lightly and he mock-cringed.

"Ouch; you've seriously wounded me."

"I hate you," She muttered around her giggles. He turned onto his side so that his cheek was pressed against her bare thigh and she felt his smile rather than saw it.

"Ditto," He breathed and dozed back off. She tangled her hand in his soft hair and began to doze off herself, but she sent one last thought into the sky before sleep overtook her aching body once more.

_I promise I'll fight against this. Wait for me, Natsu._

_I'm coming._

* * *

_A/N: I think I like this chapter more so than the last one xD. As for the lacrima thing - I dont know if it's actually in Fairy Tail or not, but whatever, and I felt like they should talk /somehow/ but I didn't want to make it too easy or anything. Tell me if you all like the idea! But thanks for all of the wonderful feedback and support – it's really made writing this a lot of fun! And, by the way, I can't remember if Lucy calls Levy "Levy-chan" so if she does, please tell me and I'll fix it asap! :3_

**BookProf101: **_I hope you think this chapter is just as interesting as the last two! :)_

**Night Kaida: **_Oooo, well thank you for leaving me a cookie! And that sounds really interesting – I'd definitely read it. Don't worry about Natsu – he's already feeling quite guilty! :P_

**GoldenRoseTanya: **_xD You never know, a little jealousy might rise in the future… *shifty eyes*_

**Animation art2000-2013: **_*hands you the third chapter in a sparkly box with a pink bow on top* The fourth will be out soon! *winks*_


	4. Friendship

_Here is the fourth chapter! I hope you all like it – and remember, kiddies, reviews are delicious little bottles of dr. pepper. Or coffee… Anyways :P Thank you all for your incredible support with this story – it really makes writing this exciting! I'm sorry if it's going a little slow, I promise it'll start moving faster soon!_

* * *

Levy glared at the newly-returned dragon slayer tapping the table incessantly with his tankard of empty beer, his eyes narrowing as Mira pointedly ignored him. Levy shook her blue curls and tried to focus once more on the book in front of her, but quickly snapped it shut and leaned forward, slapping the cup out of his hand in a very-uncharacteristic spurt of anger. He glanced over at her, his red eyes widened slightly before he broke out into a slightly evil grin and patted her on the head.

"Atta girl!" Gajeel cheered in a taunting manner. Groaning, she batted at his hand until he drew it back to his side, his grin still intact.

"I am not a dog, Gajeel!" She huffed, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest and directing her glare to the pile of books in front of her.

_Nothing is helping. These books are completely useless – there is no information on _anything.

The script mage sighed and leaned back in her chair, running her small hands through her curly mane, staring up at the ceiling and sighing in defeat. She's hasn't felt this useless since the Fantasia incident – and even then, she had somehow pulled through and undid Freed's rune, effectively releasing the dragon slayers from their imprisonment. But now… there's _nothing. _There's like two pages of actual information in the _Forbidden Curses _book, and there had been nothing worth reading about this Brok character.

She had only found three other leads, excluding the encounter with Lucy and Natsu, but they weren't definite, except for a documented and _recent _Lover's Remorse cast on another only six months prior, and she died only a month after receiving the curse. The person she'd been attracted was her husband, and he was extremely angry when she started to avoid him like the plague, and he cornered her one day and forced her to tell him why she was ignoring him. He assumed that she was seeing someone else. He reported that as soon as he came near her, she started stumbling in extreme pain and ending up collapsing against the all. He had run over to her to help, and grabbed her shoulder, only to receive a bone-chilling scream, and she slumped to the ground, dead.

Then she found out that in Hargeon, a man was reported as looking 'suspicious' and according to the reports, he was practically a carbon-copy of Brok. She also found rumors in the northern mountains that something very dark was going on in the highest peak, Grajinshoo. Levy knows nothing for sure, but it was at least worth checking out, especially since it was only a few miles away from the last documented case of Lover's Remorse.

Levy let the chair fall back to the floor with a thud and she started biting her nails worriedly, ignoring the odd glances she got from Gajeel and Lily. She abruptly stood up and headed towards the master's office, and after hearing a soft 'come in,' she stepped in and took a seat, smiling politely.

"Master, I have some leads. Not a lot, but better than nothing I hope," She laughed nervously to cover up her worry and began recounting what she had discovered, only being interrupted once when Mira came in with a mug of beer for Makarov, who took it gratefully with a slightly-lecherous smile. When Levy finished, he nodded and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Those are some indeed some compelling leads – definitely worth checking out. Since this is so rare, we need to be cautious if it's possible that we may encounter Brok again… so maybe we should make teams of people who don't really like each other, or at least not romantically." Then he coughed abruptly and wagged his finger at Levy. "Not that I'm implying anything towards Natsu or Lucy," Makarov assured her, only to heighten her suspicions more and cause a knowing smile to paint across her face, but she just let it slide. After regaining his composure with a long drink of beer, he continued speaking.

"I think we should definitely investigate these. I will task you and Mira to make up the teams, since you both do match-making things. I shall go to the magic council to inform them of Lover's Remorse and maybe they can give some insight into all of this craziness. Could you send Mira in here when you leave, Levy? Thank you," He said when she nodded, and as she opened the door to leave, she glanced back at the master with a small smile on her lips.

"Thank you, Master, for all that you do for us," She smiled and ran out of the office, while Makarov watched her go with a fond smile and a mug of beer in hand.

_Bunch of brats, I say._

* * *

Lucy yawned and stretched, immediately regretting it. She winced when her back cracked and the heightened pain flooded her. She instantly dropped her arms to her lap, forgetting Gray's face was there, and almost hit him. The blonde girl stifled a giggle at the thought of his reaction when her stomach growled loudly. She groaned and set her hand on Gray's shoulder, ready to wake him up when his eyes flew open abruptly. His lips turned downwards into a sharp frown.

"That was a weird dream," Gray muttered, looking up at Lucy, who was staring at him. He cocked an eyebrow, but she just shook her head and removed her hand.

"Can you go get us some food? And you had a weird dream?" She asked, smiling curiously and glancing up into the afternoon sky. He grinned and nodded, standing up and brushing off his… nothing. Lucy blushed heavily and covered her eyes immediately.

"Baka! Get clothes first!" She screamed, batting her arms at him. He looked down and jumped.

"Where the hell are they disappearing to?!" He yelled and ran off to look for his pants, at least. She slumped against the tree and sighed, feeling another wave of pain roll through her body, causing her teeth to clench in response.

_Would it be bad to say I'm getting used to this?_

The lacrima started glowing next to her and she picked it up, accepting the call from Fairy Tail. Mira's happy face appeared.

"Hey Lucy, how are you doing?" Mira chirped cheerily. Lucy shrugged and gave her a small smile.

"I'm doing alright, Mira, what do you need?" Mira grinned and wagged her finger.

"Levy got a few leads."

"Oh that's great! What are they?"

"I'm not entirely sure – mostly about supposed sightings, a case of Lover's Remorse and then the encounter with you and Natsu." Lucy nodded curiously.

"Another report of Lover's Remorse… where?" She asked, tapping her chin softly. Mira coughed and ruffled some papers. Suddenly she growled and threw something heavy at someone. Lucy flinched when she heard the crash along with a string of curse words. "Mira?" She asked cautiously, and the barmaid turned a sunny smile towards her as if nothing happened. The white-haired mage quickly explained where they all were and Lucy nodded, slightly confused about all of this.

"So you're telling me an ancient spell that shouldn't even technically _exist _has now appeared _twice _within the last year? This isn't sounding right…" Gray walked back from around the tree with newly donned pants. Lucy nodded gratefully at him and he mumbled he'd be back in a few minutes before quickly sprinting off down the path to get food. Mira shook her head yes and slid a mug down the bar towards someone Lucy couldn't see.

"I agree with you – it's suspicious. Levy is also finding this weird, but we still need to investigate it somehow. Master suggested making small teams of people who don't like each other – or don't have a strong connection romantically, at least." Lucy nodded and gnawed on her normally perfect nails nervously. "Speaking of the Master – he's going to the magic council to inform them of this… maybe you should go with him, seeing as how you're the victim." Lucy gulped and pointed a finger at her chest.

"M-me?" She squeaked and started shaking her head, ignoring the pain radiating down her neck at the abrupt action. "No, no, no way. I couldn't do that!" She hissed at the take-over mage, who just frowned.

"Why not? Maybe they'll have information," She suggested and Lucy just sighed.

"They might… but shouldn't I go with someone to investigate something?" Lucy offered, but Mira just shook her head.

"We don't know how far the range is – you've already put nearly an entire city between you two and you can still hardly walk on your own," She pointed out, filling a tankard with beer and sliding it down the bar again, earning a yell from someone saying to 'watch wear you're sliding the precious liquid!' Lucy figured that it was probably Cana…

"I know, I know – you're probably right too. If I was still being affected heavily when I went with someone I wouldn't be much help." She conceded, glaring up at the sky. Mira glanced at the lacrima sympathetically and sighed.

"This sucks, Lucy. I wish you could come home, but we have to fix this… otherwise you'll die. We're willing to help you until the very end, but we need you're cooperation to do so. The best thing to do would be to go to the Magic Council, and you know it," She murmured, drawing Lucy's angry gaze to her understanding one. The blonde girl let a smile tug at her lips and nodded, feeling tears prick at her brown eyes.

"I couldn't ask for a better guild, Mira," She whispered, staring at the young barmaid thankfully, who just waved her hand and grinned.

"We couldn't ask for a better Celestial Mage!" Mira retorted honestly, and Lucy snorted.

"Damn straight," She agreed, and the two girls laughed for a few seconds before they sobered up.

"I'll go talk to the Master about this, okay?" Lucy nodded.

"Okay." And the exchanged one last smile before the lacrima went black. Lucy let it fall out of her hand onto the soft grass.

_At least I have Fairy Tail._

* * *

Natsu sighed as his head hit the table with a sharp smack. Erza and Happy glanced at him worriedly, but he didn't notice – he was too caught up in his and Lucy's misfortune.

_This is entirely my fault. If only I had been stronger – I could have protected her! I could have done _something _besides uselessly flail about while she was being cursed! But no… I was too weak…_

Natsu's thoughts were just getting worse and worse when Erza finally picked up on it. His posture was slowly deteriorating, his smiles were gone and then his face had finally planted itself to the table. She frowned with her fork raised halfway to her mouth, and with a grimace, she let it fall back to the plate with a clatter. She set her hand on Natsu's very warm back and he shot up, startled.

"Erza? What's up?" He asked in a half-daze. Erza was a little alarmed to see the usual light in them gone.

"Natsu, let's go talk outside," She offered, and dragged him to the back of the guild and out of the back-door without listening for a response, and so he would get a little farther from Lucy. "Sit down." She ordered, and he immediately complied, squeaking out a small 'aye sir.' She gently sat down next to him on the soft grass and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"It isn't your fault that this happened, Natsu. This Brok individual is obviously very old and very powerful – you were caught off guard, as was Lucy." She informed him, her gaze never wavering. Natsu's onyx eyes, however, drifted away from her stare and up to the sky.

"I know that, Erza, but it still sucks. I'm the one causing this pain and it's not even something I can do anything about! And I don't want to stay away from her – she's my best friend! My partner! I can't just leave her… you know? And I'm also a little jealous of the people who _can _see her then I feel terrible for thinking that, Erza…" He said heatedly, looking at her desperately. She nodded sagely and patted his shoulder with her metal-clad hand rather roughly.

"I understand. But the best thing to do right now is to leave her alone – you can still talk via lacrima, yes?" He nodded. "Okay, then you should be grateful for small blessings right now. And we are going to do everything we can to help Lucy… but the real reason I brought you out here was to help you." She said, her intense stare forcing him to meet it openly.

"Okay…?" He ending it in a question and she withdrew her hand, sending him a smile.

"Natsu, do you love Lucy?" She asked bluntly, causing his eyebrows to scrunch together.

"What do you mean? Of course I do – we're nakama! I'd protect her with my life!" He yelled, punching the air excitedly. She shook her head and he frowned, dropping his fist back into his lap.

"No, not like that, Natsu… what I mean is; do you _love _her?" She stressed the word dramatically. Natsu nodded.

"I just said I did, Erza. Isn't always wanting to be around her and being nakama enough?" He asked innocently, and Erza realized, with a slight shock, that it was indeed enough. She reached her hand out and gently patted his pink head.

"I guess it is…" She smiled at him fondly and stood up, offering him an armored hand, which he took, and pulled him upright. He flashed the red-head his usual happy-go-lucky grin. Erza was relieved to see the light back in his black eyes.

"You know, I hate to say this, but I miss fighting with Gray," He pouted and Erza pulled a sword out of the wall.

"You could always fight me, Natsu," She offered with a wicked gleam in her eye. He quickly backed away, waving his hands.

"No, no, that's okay," Natsu squeaked, shaking his head so his rose-colored hair was flying about. She smiled sweetly and pulled another sword out of the ground.

"Oh, but I insist," Erza smiled and he ran into the guild screaming bloody murder with a flash of scarlet chasing him.

* * *

_A/N: That was not how I intended to end it… but I like it. xD In my opinion, since Natsu and Lucy are usually there for each other, and now they can't be, I figured I'd give them a shoulder to lean on. Thank you all so much for your reviews – they really are very helpful and enlightening! I just love you all asdfkl;jasdklfja;sdljfasd! _

**Guest: **_:D_

**Zelda-san: **_Thank you! And yes, Gray does indeed have Juvia. Also, Brok will get what's coming to him, just you wait *laughs evilly.* And thank you again – I will keep that in mind when Lucy and Levy have more interactions in the future. :3_

**Animation art2000-2013: **_This is going to be a dedicated NaLu fic, but it'll also be stressing the importance of their friendships, such as Gray and Lucy's. Thank you for your opinion though! And here it is: I hope you like it! *hugs*_

**Halliegirl: **_It's also everyone else's fan fiction in my opinion since I'm writing it for you all! And thank you for your input. :D (and nalu all the way!)_

**JcL107: **_Ooooo I see I explained that poorly in the last chapter, I'm sorry! The way it is in my mind is like the size of an iPhone, but is like diamond-shaped I guess – I don't know. My minds just all crazy xD But a sphere would probably make more sense. And thank you, I really enjoyed writing those two as friends. They're fun!_

**GoldenRoseTanya: **_XD :3_

**Night Kaida: **_I read it and it sounds so interesting! Update it soon – I can't wait to read more! :D_


	5. Teams

_I'm not too confident with this chapter, particularly because I've had bad writer's block lately. xP But still – I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for your reviews, they really do mean the world to me!_

* * *

Levy and Mira stared at the piece of paper between them and nodded, smiling at each other. Finally, the teams were made and it was decided who would go where. Obviously, they couldn't be romantically attracted to each other. So Alzack and Bisca had to be on separate teams, along with a few others. They also can't feel extreme devotion towards another, such as Freed to Laxus. That would result in disaster. Mira tapped the paper one last time.

"Let's go through this one more time, just to make sure, Levy," She suggested, and the script mage nodded, resting her chin on her hands. Mira cleared her throat and began reading off of the paper.

"Team One: Natsu, Juvia, Freed and Cana. They'll be heading to the swamp north of Oshibana, where they're last mission was. Team Two: Gray, Laxus, Laki, Elfman, and they'll be heading to Hargeon to check that 'sighting' out. Team Three: Gajeel, Lisanna, Erza, and Alzack. They'll be heading to the last documented case of Lover's Remorse and check out the disturbances on Grajinshoo. Then, of course, Lucy, you, Makarov, and Wendy will be going to the magic council. That sounds good. Hopefully no one encounters him until we get the magic council involved." The barmaid muttered the last part and glanced at the bluenette, who was nodding.

"This is as good as it's going to get. I mean, no one in Fairy Tail hates each other; that's just how we are. We're basically just splitting up teams and pairing them with other random teammates." Levy sighed and dropped her head to the table dramatically. "I don't know if this is going to work." She sighed heavily and Mira set her pale hand on her friend's head soothingly.

"Don't worry, Levy. Everyone will be okay." Mira smiled reassuringly when Levy looked up and Levy grinned, lifting her head off of the bar. "Do you want me to tell everyone the teams?" Levy nodded and Mira grabbed the papers and walked over to the stage, tapping the microphone and gaining everyone's attention. A couple of cat calls were heard.

"Going to do another performance?!" Someone yelled, and Cana drunkenly made a cat meow with a clawing motion towards Mira, grinning deviously. Mira just shook her head.

"Sorry guys, no performances today. We have to go investigate the person who did this to Lucy." Natsu immediately lifted his bruised head – via Erza – and grinned. "We split a few people into separate teams to investigate different leads that our lovely Levy has found for us." Someone yelled 'good job bookworm!', "And they're not going to be with people you particularly want, but you'll have to deal with it because of the dangers of Lover's Remorse. Also, I'd like to congratulate Wendy, Gajeel, and Juvia for successfully completing their mission _without _destroying anything!" She clapped her hand and smiled teasingly towards what was left of Team Natsu. The dragon slayer was of course oblivious, but Erza just blushed slightly and shrugged, shoving a piece of cake in her mouth. Mira quickly read off the teams and ignored the groans and occasional sobbing – Freed and Juvia – from the various guild members.

"Okay, everyone, start getting ready; we leave in a few hours! Sorry to those that just got back from missions – but we really need to investigate this Brok character because he is extremely dangerous! Let's do this!" She yelled cheerfully, earning a roar from Natsu. Laxus just tipped his chair back and turned up his sound lacrima, grimacing.

Mira hopped off of the stage and walked back over to Levy, dodging various flying fists and bustling people. Natsu had hopped on a table and was cackling for his team to hurry up, he was ready to go. Levy glanced over at him with a worried look in her eyes.

"Can he leave yet? Like, will Lu-chan be okay?" Mira picked up a glass and a rag and began polishing it mechanically.

"Speaking of her being okay, the master and Wendy are already by her – they're waiting on you." Levy's eyes widened and she jumped up, running to the door.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" She shouted over her shoulder, but Mira just chuckled and listened to her crazy guild.

* * *

Lucy was sitting on a hill overlooking Magnolia with the Master, Wendy, and two carriage horses named Yumi and Kato. They were just waiting on Levy, and then they'd be on their way. Lucy looked out towards the hills and sighed at the sunset, wincing at the sharp pain the spiked through her chest. Wendy had tried healing her earlier, and it was absolutely useless. Nothing worked – it didn't even lessen the pain.

_This curse sure is a bitch._

She shifted her legs so she was cross-legged, flinching at the pain. Sighing, she glanced up at the evening sky and smiled slightly. She held the lacrima tightly in her hand, trying to stop herself from calling Natsu. It's been a long time since she's been away from his side for so long. Maybe she _should _call him… Lucy shook her head and let it drop to the grass. According to Master, they were preparing to pack up and head out – so they're busy. And by then, they'll be on the road and heading in the opposite direction of Natsu – hopefully far enough away so she can have the strength to call on her spirits if needed.

"Lucy?" A small voice asked. Lucy turned her head so she could see the mess of long, navy hair and warm brown eyes. Lucy instantly smiled.

"What's up, Wendy?" She inquired. Wendy smiled back and held out her hand.

"Levy's here – she says we have to leave now so that Natsu's team can board the train to Oshibana," Wendy informed the celestial mage, who nodded and accepted her hand gratefully. When she stood up, Lucy instantly missed Gray – it was a lot easier to lean on him rather than little Wendy. Still, she couldn't help it because it was so hard to stand. Master held open the door to the carriage for them and Levy helped the young sky dragon with Lucy, who was finding it hard to move because of the pain. Finally, they got her situated on a seat and by this point, Lucy was exhausted once more.

"Pain really kicks the shi… crap… out of you," She barely corrected herself in time, remembering that there were young ears in the cab. But Makarov just grinned and hopped on the outside to drive the horses. Before they started moving, Levy's apologetic face appeared above Lucy's.

"Levy-chan?" She asked, already feeling terrible. For some reason, the young blonde imagined this is how Natsu must feel when they boarded transportation, because she was feeling quite sick.

"I'm sorry, Lu-chan, but this has to be done," Before Lucy had time to react, there was a sharp pain in her neck and then the world went black.

* * *

Natsu was all packed and at Fairy Tail with his team, just awaiting Mira's word to when he could leave. The other's had already left, but he had to stick back because Lucy might still be in the vicinity. Mira was currently talking to Levy over lacrima.

"You knocked her out?" The barmaid asked the young bluenette incredulously, who looked extremely sheepish. She waved her hands at the screen that someone else was holding – probably Wendy – and frowned.

"I had to! She would've been in serious pain otherwise – plus, Wendy's magic doesn't help." She muttered, and Wendy squeaked a small apology. "Don't be sorry, Wendy, it isn't your fault." Levy reassured her, and Mira heard a soft sigh.

"Well, that's unfortunate. You know, Levy, that that is a very Erza-like way to handle the situation," The bluenette sputtered and Mira giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Natsu was curious and wandered over there, tapping Mira's shoulder. She turned around and smiled at the dragon slayer.

"Natsu, she's asleep," Immediately guessing what he wanted, Natsu just nodded and sat down at a barstool, listening to their conversation.

"Well, Mira, we better go. Wendy still needs to rest from her mission and I should get some sleep before we go to the council as well." She broke off her sentence with a big yawn, and Mira smiled.

"Okay, sleep well guys! Be safe!" She smiled and the lacrima went black. She turned to Natsu and studied his pensive expression with sad blue eyes.

"It'll be okay, Natsu. Go to the swamp and do what you can," She murmured softly, patting the younger boys head. The dragon slayer smiled and stood up, grabbing his bags and flying out of the door with his team struggling to keep up. "Wait, Freed!" She yelled, and he stopped in the doorway, glancing back at the take-over mage.

"Yes, Mira?" The green-haired boy asked curiously, trying to ignore how pretty she was. Mira reached underneath the counter and grabbed another communication lacrima, tossing it to him.

"You're probably the most responsible out of the four of you, so, keep it safe. That's how I'll be contacting you, as well as the various teams and Lucy when she'd like to talk to Natsu, okay?" He nodded and went to turn around, but hesitated and looked back at her. She cocked an eyebrow. "What's up?" She asked, grabbing a dish rag and wiping at the counter.

"Natsu and Lucy… are they a couple?" Freed asked curiously. Mira grinned wickedly.

"They should be, but they aren't. I don't think they realize it yet," She said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "That's why we need to break this curse – so my match making predictions can finally come to fruition!" She proclaimed, smacking the bar top to emphasize her point. Freed chuckled and nodded, bowing to her chivalrously.

"Of course; I will do all I can to make it happen," He promised, and with a teasing glint in his eye, the runes mage took off after his team. Mira grinned and continued wiping at the bar top until it was super shiny.

"He really is quite handsome," She mumbled into the empty guild with a small smile on her face.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry that this is a little late and I'm supppperrrr sorry if it's short and stuff but shits been so crazy right now and stuff and UGHGGGHHGHGH. And I've had like uber writer's block and artist's block (is that a thing?) and yea UGH. GHGUGHGUHGUHUUGH. Oh and I'm really excited cause mayday parade's new single came out yesterday! LIKE, WHAT?! I know. And I'm trying to add more romances and friendships than just NaLu and the 'main characters.' I wanna add depth to this story! Muahaha! But enough with my crazy ranting; I hope you all liked it and blah! Reviews are my drugs! Yum!_

**Night Kaida: **_That sounds absolutely joyful! Torturing the boys… sounds delightful. Can't wait to read it! And yes – Natsu is quite dense, lol. :_

**Animation art2000-2013: **_Hope you liked it! :D_

**Halliegirl: **_Thank you! I hope you liked this one!_

**GoldenRoseTanya: **_XD_

**JcL107: **_Haha, thank you! And yes, essentially a diamond shaped "iPhone" would probably be the best way to describe it. :3_

**Zelda-san: **_You really want Brok to die, eh? XD And thank you!_

**Lolibeagle: **_Thank you! :)_


	6. Dream-World

_This is just so random and what the hell. I don't really know where it's going anywhere BUT the best stories spring up randomly (imo...) so who knows! (I'm just trying to make myself feel better...) So you all can kill me if you want since I've been terrible about updating! :( Hopefully the next chappy will be out soon - I hope you like iittttititiit (lol tit)! *Pinches everyones cheeks and kisses all y'all's foreheads* thanks for being awesome people!_

* * *

"Lucy," A deep voice rumbled softly, causing her eyes to open slowly… cautiously. Her chocolate orbs scanned around the white plane until they landed on a familiar pair of silver eyes. Her body immediately tensed to stand, but quickly realized she was restrained by some invisible force. She ground her teeth and glared at the dark-skinned man, who was regarding her sadly. He didn't move to come closer, but just stood there looking sad and menacing at the same time.

"Brok," She spat in response, remembering the name Levy had used. His eyes seemed to grow sadder, and he slowly sat down – seemingly on air, or maybe an invisible chair, Lucy wasn't sure – and reclined back, his eyes never leaving hers. There was something so ancient about that gaze… it made her feel uncomfortable and sad at the same time. There was a tense silence until his voice broke it with a slightly shocking message.

"I'm sorry," Were his words of choice. Lucy could hear the sincerity in his rumbling tone, but she refused to feel remorse for the man who did this to her and Natsu. Slowly, she shook her head and her golden locks tumbled over her shoulders, framing her face.

"I can't forgive you," She replied, trying to tame some of the venom in her tone. He nodded his head forward. Brok locked his hands together and set them on his stomach in a show of relaxation, but Lucy could see the tenseness in his posture.

"I know," Brok mumbled sadly, his silver gaze flicking up towards hers. She wanted to glance away, but she couldn't. Instead, she tugged at the restraints a little, trying to get comfortable in the overall uncomfortable setting. Noticing her struggling, he flipped his hand and she stumbled onto her hands and knees. She sent a sharp glare at him before standing up and dusting off her bare knees.

"You could've given me a warning," She growled, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg, taking up a stance that said 'I hate everybody here.' Brok chuckled slightly and swished his hand. Lucy felt something hit the back of her knees, buckling them, and she squeaked before falling into a very soft chair with a high back that felt quite velvety. She sent an icy glare his way again.

"I don't know if I should thank you or not," Lucy murmured, and Brok shrugged his muscled shoulders.

"I really am sorry, you know," He muttered, staring out at the blank-white horizon. Lucy frowned at him and started picking at her nails.

"I can't forgive you… unless you tell me how to beat this," She said, looking up at him with a hopeful glint in her brown eyes. His silver eyes cut to her and he frowned. Brok didn't answer, but instead he waved his hand again and Lucy (and her chair) were moved to the left and slanted a bit. A familiar person appeared sitting on air, and their floating bodies made a triangle. Lucy's eyes widened at the stark contrast of familiar pink hair on a white background.

"N-Natsu?"

* * *

_Meanwhile, back in Magnolia:_

"I don't want to go on the train!" The young fire dragon slayer whined, throwing himself on the ground and pounding it with his fists. A hand smacked the back of his pink head and he pouted, staring up at the mess of brown hair with puppy eyes.

"They probably sell alcohol of _some sort _on this damned train, so we're going, alright?" She hissed while pulling a silver flask out of her small brown satchel and putting it to her lips. Meanwhile, Freed was buying tickets with Juvia not far behind him.

"But I don't want to be sick…" Natsu mumbled and his voice trailed off as his face became green. "I wish Happy were here! Then he could just fly me!" Another hand connected with the back of his head and he frowned. "Stop hitting me!" He screeched, jumping to his feet. Natsu was about to yell some more about how he could run to the next town faster than any train could go, but Freed spoke up at this point whilst walking back to the drunkard and the dragon slayer with red tickets in his hand.

"Natsu, think of this as a competition with Gray; whoever gets back to Magnolia fastest with the most information on Brok wins." The runes mage said while slowly moving the group towards the train. Natsu lit his fists on fire and smiled a devilish grin.

"You're right! I can totally beat that ice princess to a pulp!" He fist pumped the air… just in time for a fist to connect with his stomach. He slumped against Cana, who grabbed the collar of his vest and started dragging him to the train. Freed had his palm pressed against his forehead.

"Really, Cana?" He asked, exasperated. The young cards mage shrugged her shoulders and took another swig of her alcohol.

"He wouldn't shut up," She responded, flashing him a coy grin. They entered their cabin and sat down – except for Natsu, who was thrown unceremoniously to the floor by a now-drunk Cana, seriously, what was she drinking? Freed let his green head rest against the window as the train slowly started to move towards Oshibana and tried to block out Cana's drunken giggles across from him, Natsu's pathetic whining from the floor and Juvia's mumblings about her "precious Gray-sama" next to him. Freed sighed and focused on the passing scenery.

Yes, this was certainly going to be a long trip.

* * *

"N-Natsu?" A familiar voice asked, and the young dragon slayer opened his onyx eyes cautiously. When he saw the pretty golden hair he immediately backed up. His calloused hands immediately registered the feeling of velvet and then hard wood, and before he knew it, he had fallen on a hard, cold floor.

"What is this?" Lucy screeched, pressing herself against the high-backed chair as her chocolate eyes widened. Natsu heard a small chuckle.

"You won't feel pain here."

Natsu released the breath he hadn't known he was holding and finally looked around, taking in his surroundings… which was nothing. Everything was blank white except for Lucy and… and… who is that? As soon as he thought that, two scents attacked his nose: strawberry and vanilla – obviously Lucy – and the familiar smell of shadows and metal.

Brok.

Natsu growled and stood up abruptly. Within the next second, his face was inches from the man who did this to him and Lucy. He barely heard Lucy's voice as she fretted behind him. His steaming hand came up and grabbed Brok's neck. Silver and onyx eyes clashed in a silent war of glares.

"Stop it, you two!" Lucy squeaked, ducking forward and grabbing the back of Natsu's white scarf. While she did that, her fingers brushed against the back of his bare neck. Her touch brought him back to earth and he pulled away from Brok rather abruptly, nearly ramming into Lucy.

"Why did you do this?!" He suddenly yelled, pushing Lucy behind him so that he was between her and Brok. The dark mage just sighed and rubbed his temples.

"You're loud," He commented, sending a glare towards him. He flicked one of his fingers in Natsu's direction. Natsu's arms were jerked upwards, almost like his wrists were being pulled up by invisible cuffs, and his feet were bound together by an invisible force as well. He was pulled up about three feet and he was been suspended in mid-air. Growling, he bucked and jerked around in the confines for a few seconds before lighting himself on fire to no avail.

"Calm down, Salamander. Let me speak," Brok insisted, but Natsu's vision was tinted red by his hatred for this mage.

"Let him down," Lucy suddenly spoke up, putting her hands on her hips and making an angry face at Brok, who just sighed and waved his hand, allowing the fire dragon slayer to fall unceremoniously to the white floor. Just as he stood up, Brok brought his hands together and both Lucy and Natsu fell backwards into invisible chairs again.

"Now, will you two shut up and let me speak?" He asked in a polite tone. Brok snapped his fingers at Natsu and his wrists were bound to the invisible arm-rests. "Good."

"Lucy," He turned his gaze to her, and her brown eyes met his sliver ones unflinching. Brok turned to Natsu. "Natsu," The rose-haired mage just glared at him with deep onyx eyes.

"People who are afflicted with Lover's Remorse usually only last one month," Lucy's eyes widened and she locked her hands together on her lap. "Sometimes less," He added with a gravely tone, and his voice trailed off as the pain in his eyes became completely visible. "I want you to find me and kill me." He suddenly said, and Lucy had a shocked expression on her face while Natsu just nodded.

"That doesn't sound like something that somebody evil would want…" She commented, and Brok sighed, rubbing his temples.

"I have reasons for wanting to be rid of this world, but none you could understand… at least not yet, Lucy." He was now talking directly to the celestial mage and ignoring the dragon slayer. He stared at her for a few moments with a distant expression. "You look just like her, you know," Brok murmured with a painful tone. Lucy frowned.

"Like who?" She asked, leaning forward slightly. Brok just shook his head.

"Nothing… Lucy?" He asked suddenly, glancing at her with silver eyes. She cocked her head.

"What?"

"You know how to beat this." He said suddenly, earning a startled look from her.

"If I knew how to beat this it would already be gone!" She yelled, gesturing wildly with her arms. Brok just smiled softly.

"You know how to beat this… so does he," He murmured, glancing over at the pink-haired mage who was now watching him intently. Their faces were both scrunched up in looks of concentration. Brok waved his hand and they started fading.

"Wait, no!" Lucy yelled, seeing her dissolving hand. It was turning into glittering embers and fading away. "I have more questions! You owe me!" She screeched, glaring at him with her chocolate eyes. Natsu was just staring at his disappearing body in awe.

"Luce, this is so cool!" The blonde girl stopped yelling and looked at Natsu, and Brok was astonished at the amount of love that visible in her eyes. Her whole face softened into a pretty smile, though it was sad, it was still breathtaking.

"Yea, it is cool, Natsu…" She murmured as her hips turned to golden glitter and faded away. Natsu's did the same. He suddenly flashed her a wide grin, completely ignoring Brok.

"Don't be sad, Luce! We're Fairy Tail mages; we can beat this for sure!" He promised, and Lucy's eyes filled with tears and she nodded, lifting her pointer finger and thumb to him before it too disappeared. He nodded in response, his pink hair bobbing. "Always!"

They disappeared together in a shower of golden embers, which faded away almost instantly. Brok stared off at the white horizon sadly. His mind traveled back to the love of his life… before he had been completely consumed by anger – before he had been destroyed by grief. Her name danced on the tip of his tongue, and with a small, bittersweet smile, he let her image appear in front of him. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a lazy bun and she was sporting a white t-shirt with a pair of jeans that hugged her legs tightly. Brok stared at her and thought about Lucy and Natsu.

Natsu is a lot like him; fighting a useless battle. His hand reached out and he stood, walking over to the image.

_She isn't real, she isn't real, she isn't real…_

His hand touched her holographic cheek, passing right through it. His hand fell down to his side as he stared at this perfect, lifeless recreation of his love, his life… his heart.

"Layla."

* * *

_I don't know where this story is going anymore lol, but i've been terrible with updating so you all can come to my house and kidnap me and feed me to a pack of hungry panda bears or moose or leopards if you want!  
Okay, here is me trying to explain wtf went on in this chappy: Natsu and Lucy were both sleeping at the same time, so Brok pulled them into a 'dream-world' where he controls anything and everything in that particular world. Who knows why he brought them there yet... but we'll find out soon enough!  
Hopefully that cleared up any confusion - if there was any. I just wanted to make sure no one was thinking that Brok like kidnapped them or something then turned them to ash XD  
Reviews are my crack - feed my addiction! :D_

_I love you all - thanks for being amazing. (and i wrote the responses to these questions when I was super tired so... *chuckles darkly and rubs hands together*)_

**GoldenRoseTanya: **_XD I love reading your comments lol_

**Animation art2000-2013: **_:D YAY! And I'm sorry it took so long; but here it is! In all of its weird and random glory!_

**Lolibeagle: **_I think it was pretty adorable too and I love your profile picture. :3_

**Zelda-san: **_Yes, Brok has been portrayed as a jerk… but is he really? *laughs evilly*_

**Coolgal342: **_:D thank you! It's my goal to make people turn into fangirls (or guys) and hopefully *wink wink* there will be more excitement soon! *evil organ music plays*_


	7. Shadows

_Wow this was like so random and I don't even know xD Hope you all like it!_

* * *

"Lu-chan! Wake up!" Levy shouted shaking the sleeping girl's shoulder. Lucy's foggy eyes opened slowly. It wasn't the first time she'd been shouted awake, especially since Natsu practically – her brown orbs widened instantly. She sat up alarmingly fast, narrowly avoiding smacking her forehead into her blue-haired friend's. As soon as she sat up, she waited for the pain to barrel into her, but she only felt a sharp tugging in her back, like it was sore… but that was it. She smiled in relief and exhaled heavily, letting her shoulders slump.

"What's up, Levy-chan?" She asked, wondering why the girl had screamed her awake. Levy sighed and plopped down in the carriage's seat, looking uncharacteristically worried and maybe even angry.

"Sorry, the Master just wanted me to wake you up – you've been sleeping for nearly eight hours, by the way – and I'm just frustrated over something else entirely, I didn't mean to be rude, Lu-chan," She mumbled the last part, glaring out of the window. Lucy looked up at her small body sympathetically, and opened her mouth to respond, until the carriage rolled over a large bump, causing her to topple onto her side, biting her tongue in the process.

"Oww…" She muttered, and only then did she realize that she had been on the floor. Frowning, she glanced over at Levy, who was now sprawled sideways on the seat, looking a little frazzled.

"You okay, Lu-chan?" She asked, and Lucy nodded, sitting up and rubbing her still-tired eyes.

"I'm good, Levy-chan. Are we almost at the Magic Council?" The young blonde asked the Levy, who had righted herself.

"Yeah, we'll be there in about thirty minutes," Lucy nodded at Levy, then her brows furrowed.

"I had a dream," She said suddenly, and a weird feeling swelled in her chest. Levy frowned at her best friend.

"We all do. Wait – do you mean," Her eyes widened comically. "A dream regarding your curse?" Lucy nodded, moving her screwed-up hair out of her eyes. "Tell me everything – now!"

Lucy sighed, but moved closer to her friend to recite her dream.

* * *

Natsu sighed happily, kissing the ground lovingly.

"You treat me so much better than vehicles..." He cooed, hugging the wooden floor of the train station. A few people were glancing at him, while an older man was nodding in agreement while staring at the black train angrily. Cana sighed and threw an empty beer bottle at him, causing him to groan. Freed pressed his palm to his forehead. Juvia was glaring at the horizon – seemingly at nothing (probably mulling over something to do with "Gray-sama.") – and the young runes mage was trying his hardest not to kill them all. Or, better yet, leave them in an enchanted box here in town.

"Alright, listen up!" He shouted, clapping his hands together and gaining zero attention from his teammates. Freed tried again, but to no avail. Losing his patience, he yelled at them, causing more patrons to glance nervously.

"Cana – if you don't listen _right now, _no more alcohol! Juvia; if you don't listen I'll lock you in a box so you won't be able to see Gray again! And Natsu… if you don't listen to me then I'll put you back on the train!" He growled, and finally, he got their attention. Natsu stood up and muttered a small "aye," while Cana just "tch'd" and Juvia paled considerably. Freed cleared his throat and straightened his jacket.

"Good. Now, Natsu, take us to where you and Lucy last were – okay?" Natsu stood up and grumbled something about food. They got just outside of the city when Natsu suddenly stopped.

"Something wrong, Natsu?" Cana asked, slurring her words a bit and waving a bottle of wine. Freed placed both of his hands over his face and muttered a small prayer.

"No – just remembering something... I think it was a dream," He muttered, narrowing his eyes at the ground and standing there for a moment. Freed could tell he was thinking unusually hard about something. Then, all of the sudden, he lit on fire.

"I remember," He growled. Juvia frowned.

"What do you remember, Natsu-san?" She asked, and he cracked his knuckles.

"My dream – about me and Luce," He growled, and Freed paled, shaking his hands at Natsu.

"Uh, it's alright, we don't nee-" A hand clamped over his mouth. Cana's alcohol breath wafted to him and he cringed.

"Sure we do, Natsu. Go ahead, tell us," Her tone was sly. Natsu furrowed his brows.

"But, first, extinguish yourself," Freed muttered after freeing himself from Cana's surprisingly strong grip. Natsu did as told and sat down on the ground, the others following suit.

They certainly weren't expecting what they heard.

* * *

Gray was in the middle of nowhere with a moody dragon slayer, a "manly man," and a bookworm. At least he had someone smart – besides himself, of course – on his team. Sighing, the raven-haired man trudged through the silent town, trying to ignore the ominous feeling this place gave him. That is, until the young purple-haired girl spoke up, adjusting her glasses.

"It's weird here," Was her observation. She was staring at the darkened alleyways between the small houses accusingly.

"Tch," Laxus muttered, pulling his coat closer around him. However, Gray agreed with the girl. What was her name? Oh yea, Laki. Unbuttoning his shirt, he nodded and stopped walking.

"I agree with you," He responded, feeling eyes on him – besides his teammates' eyes, obviously. His dark blue eyes scanned the buildings in the dimming light. "Laki," He said, and she immediately responded with a small sound. "Isn't Hargeon a populated city? As in – bustling?" She moved next to him and nodded, glaring down the road. They could no longer hear Laxus' loud music, so it was obvious he was listening in on their conversation.

"Yes, generally, it is quite a populated – wait, haven't you been here?" She asked, her sharp eyes turning to him. Gray nodded, his spiky hair bouncing.

"Yea – was just making sure, though," He muttered, and that's when he felt it. His eyes widened and he barely pushed Laki out of the way when the magical bullet ripped through the air.

"Freeze!" Gray shouted, and mist formed. It cleared a few seconds later, and his team saw him cupping a small, sharp-looking bullet with encased in a ball of ice. Laxus suddenly spun around and held his palm out, like he was trying to stop someone, and started shooting lightning bolts at seemingly non-existent enemies.

"They look like shadows!" He shouted, and Laki quickly went to work, while Elfman went full-take over.

"We are men!" He roared, while Laki glared at him.

"I'm a girl!"

"That's enough – focus!" Gray yelled, dropping the frozen bullet and placing his hands on the cobblestone ground. "Ice Make: Floor!" Ice spread along the floor, but it didn't affect the shadow-people at all. In fact, it seemed to make them go faster.

"A warning next time, please?!" Laki screamed, nearly slipping on the new surface. Her brown eyes shot to the side, where she saw someone – no, _something _come up behind Elfman, who was a good distance from them.

"Wood Make: The Dam of Shy Love!" She shouted, and spikes of wood erupted all around Elfman, spearing the shadows and making them disintegrate. Almost immediately, however, they reformed. Something in Laki's mind clicked, and she jumped forward.

"Were you trying to kill me?! That's very unmanly!" He yelled, not noticing the shadows behind him.

"Move!" She screamed, sweeping her hands to the side to make the wood disappear into the ground. Elfman, heeding her advice, quickly jumped onto the roof of the house. She skated over the ice – maybe this wasn't such a stupid idea on Gray's part – and shouted yet another spell.

"Wood Make: Violent Approach!" A massive spiked ball soared to the inky-black thing, and it blew into dust again, only to reform once more. Laki furrowed her brows.

_My theory was right._

Lightning was crackling, ice was being shot everywhere, and Elfman was pounding the ground.

"Why are there so many?!" Gray shouted, dropping to one knee when something flew at him, narrowly missing the sharp object. "Ice Make: Lance!"

"Stop! These are memories!" She suddenly yelled, gaining Gray's attention.

"What?!"

"These are memories! Shadows of the past! They can't be harmed!" She yelled, running - rather, skating - back to Gray and Laxus, who were practically back-to-back. Gray furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to respond when the lightning mage beat him to it.

"So, what? We retreat?" He yelled, shooting more lightning out of his palms and causing the sky to boom with thunder. Laki nodded her head frantically.

"They're designed to harm people – but they can't be harmed themselves! Someone's manipulating them!" She shouted, ducking low to avoid another silent bullet that ripped through the air. "See? They're completely silent!" She pointed out, and everyone suddenly went quiet, watching the shadows.

"That's creepy as fuck," Laxus pointed out, and Laki scowled at his language, but agreed with him.

"Yea…" Gray muttered, lowering his hands and catching a knife right before it impaled his chest. Elfman muttered something about Laki being a man as he warily moved closer to them – the young purple-haired girl chose to ignore this.

"We have to find who's controlling these people," Gray suddenly muttered, finding his 'heroic' side once again. Laki suddenly shook her head.

"They're not people, Gray. They're figments, shadows, memories…" Gray frowned and shook his head.

"Then where are the villagers?" He growled while suddenly throwing up an ice shield. Laki furrowed her brows and cast her brown eyes downward.

"Gone."

* * *

Lucy stared up at the weirdly massive building. There were guards crawling all around it and people were walking around. She put her hand on her keys and glared at the huge gates that read "Magic Council." Makarov cleared his throat as a guard walked up to greet them, however, greet was too nice a word. It was more like interrogating.

"What do'ya want, old man?" He growled, slamming the butt of his spear on the ground, causing poor Wendy to jump. Levy set a comforting hand on her shoulder and glared at the older guy. Makarov, however, was calm, even happy.

"Tell the council that Makarov is here. Tell them 'Lover's Remorse.' They'll be interested," His voice took on a slightly dangerous edge at the end, and the man quickly scurried away, losing his earlier over-confidence. He returned a few minutes later, wearing a sour expression.

"The Magic Council would like to see you, Master Makarov and company," He muttered, lifted his arm up at the gate-keepers and snapping his fingers. They complied and quickly rolled up the gates. Lucy could practically feel their exertion from here. The four mages quickly followed the guard who was glaring the entire time. He led them into the over-sized building and motioned roughly, though politely, to a set of doors. They entered into a small room and Lucy frowned.

_A dead end?_

Wendy and Levy were just as confused, until, however, Makarov grinned like a little kid. The guard followed them in and set his finger on a button, before glancing back at the three girls with mock-sympathy.

"Brace yourselves," He warned, and before they even had time to register his warning, they were flying upwards. Levy got pushed to her knees instantly, while the other three managed to stay upright – barely. Makarov was laughing while Wendy was screaming. Lucy glanced up, the racing wind making her eyes water, just to see a roof.

_Oh god we're going to die. We're going to hit that and our bodies are going to explode on impact and –_

However, her thoughts were cut short when the roof opened up and they were suddenly in a spacious room with a glowing floor. Lucy looked around, feeling uneasy about this situation. They stumbled around until they could stay upright, and the blonde girl finally noticed the ten-or-so mages circling them. She pulled Wendy closer to her. Levy was on her feet and dusting off her knees, sighing.

"Hey, Magic Council!" Makarov said gleefully, waving at them with a grin on his face. He was weird, even in front of all of these people. Lucy was tempted to smack her head on the wooden platform she was standing on. However, they were all stoic – almost as if they were used to it.

"This is the girl?" One of them asked. His voice was aged and raspy, and he was staring in Lucy's direction. She stiffened.

"Yes," Another said before Makarov or any of them could respond. Her voice was light and airy – though it had a menacing quality about it. Someone suddenly stepped forward. He was handsome and had black hair.

"What a pleasure to meet somebody with Lover's Remorse," He murmured, staring at Lucy with a slightly hungry expression. She shuddered and looked away. A booming voice broke through the others, who were now mumbling to themselves.

"Girl with Lover's Remorse – step forward," She frowned, but unhooked Wendy from her and did as asked, stepping off of the wooden platform and onto the surrounding glowing floor. The voice was coming from no one she could see. It was unnerving. Suddenly, a man in a hooded cloak stepped forward. She could feel his creepy smile from where she was standing, and she could hear his tiny chuckle.

"Now; let's examine her, shall we?"

* * *

Brok was in Magnolia. It was a bustling, cute town. The kind of town a place like Fairy Tail would be from. Sighing, he steadied himself as he crouched down on the Church's roof, feeling the wind caress his face. Glaring off at the horizon, his original goal came to mind and he growling deep in his throat. He was here for one reason and one reason alone. He snapped his fingers and everything went black.

It is time to find _her._

* * *

It was dark in Magnolia. The kind of nighttime that was inky black – no moonlight, starlight, streetlight… Just black. Except for one place – Fairy Tail. A certain white-haired mage was there, cleaning the kitchen and humming softly to herself when she suddenly heard a loud groan. Her voice cut off and she soundlessly set down the dish she had been holding. Her senses were screaming for her to go into Satan Soul, but she refrained. Her pale hand grabbed a knife before slipping out of the kitchen and into the guild hall.

That's when she saw him.

His black cloak was ripped, his pale face was bloody, and his black hair was sticking in all directions. For a second, she thought it was Gray, but quickly cast it aside when she saw his eyes, which were immensely different from Gray's. She set the knife on the counter and rushed to him immediately.

"Are you okay?" She asked worriedly, kneeling next to him. He was wincing in pain and he rolled onto his side, groaning loudly. "What's your name?" The barmaid ran her hands over his dark cloak, looking for a clasp, when he whispered something. She leaned closer to him.

"What?" She asked softly, and that's when she heard it.

"_He's coming."_

Her blue eyes widened, and then everything went black. The last thing she remembered seeing was silver-eyed man exiting Fairy Tail with a livid look on his face.

* * *

_Holy shit I wasn't expecting this ending. I was like WOAH then like WHAT then like OH YEAH BABY. XD Anyways – school has been beating my ass lately. And I hope you guys like where this is going – and if you have any theories about what happened to Mira, tell me! I'd love to know what you all think. __AND, WOAH, LOOK OVER YONDER! A wild review has appeared! Let me eat it!  
(Btw, sorry about the lack of NaLu! And that thing at the magic council was like a magical elevator thing. I'm imagining it'd be controlled by a lacrima. Seriously my mind is weird.) And, about Laki, I wanted to develop her character a little bit in this story. In my mind, I imagine she's a little sassy. xD__  
_

_I will leave you with some questions for you to think about until next time! XD _

"_What's going on at Hargeon?  
What's the Council's interest in Lover's Remorse?  
Why is Brok in Magnolia – and who's he looking for?  
What happened to Mira?!"_

**Coolgal342: **_Mmmm… Jellal. Sorry about the lack of NaLu in this part – hope you still like it! :P And it's updated now! Muahaha!_

**KanaeHitomi: **_Thank you! :3_

**Animation art2000-2013: **_XD I hurried! Hope you like this chapter!_

**WhiteWinterStar: **_Yay my addiction has been satisfied for now! And that is an extremely interesting feeling you've got there… *laughs evilly.*_


	8. Who's Mika?

_Really, I'm sorry for the long wait. You can hit me if you want! This was more a filler chapter (im so soRRY) but more action next chapter - i swear it on my life! and the life of this story!_

* * *

She was standing alone, surrounded by the ten most powerful mages in Fiore. They had sent away her friends, even though they were extremely unwilling, they finally left voluntarily. Lucy tried not to shake as the black-haired guy that was ogling her walked up and stared hard at her. Finally, someone spoke up, breaking the weird and more-than-creepy silence.

"Who're you bound to?" A woman's voice asked. It was raspy, but laced with a bit of kindness. Or maybe Lucy was mistaking kindness for pity.

"What?" She responded, confused by the question.

"Oh, hush, you know how easily confused lesser mages are."

"Well, pardon me," The woman scoffed.

"Wait – I'm not _easily confused," _Lucy growled suddenly, startling herself. "I just don't understand what she means by _'bound'." _A few giggles followed her little speech before they were all rudely shushed.

"She was harshly referring to the one who was also affected by this curse, but it was pointless to ask, because we already know that it is Salamander," The man in the cloak responded monotonously. Lucy suppressed a shiver at his too-dead tone and instead opted to just listen. "So, Ms. Heartfilia, to answer the question you have not yet voiced, we do indeed have a single file on Brok, though we could not find a last name, and we know a few things about Lover's Remorse, as it would seem." His voice was lilting with amusement and it was taking all of Lucy's self-restraint from bounding forward and shaking him until her answered every question she had. She bit back a sigh.

"So… sir… what do you know?" Lucy asked politely albeit hesitantly. Even though his face was lost in the shadow of his hood (which was weird because the floor was glowing so the shadow should be cast upwards…?) and she could _feel _his smirk. And it was making her blood boil. Seriously, what is with this guy?

"I am the historian of Fiore – you don't need to know my name. And as for what I know, well, that would take a long time to list all of it, so why not be more specific?" He was still as a statue and he was a smartass – seriously? She had to get stuck with the bitchiest (most likely, she wasn't sure) historian ever? Biting back a multitude of scathing retorts, she instead opted to revise her earlier sentence.

"Okay… then what do you know of my curse and Brok?"

He laughed softly. Lucy's fingers were twitching to smack him. "That's better. Well, there's a lot, including some of his history, but honestly I know far more of the curse rather than him in specific. But I'll start with Brok first, if you don't mind?" He asked, and honestly, she wanted to kick him. Gritting her teeth, she shook her head and gestured for him to continue.

"Well, Brok is an interesting character in Fiore's history. First he was a disciple of Zeref, then after Zeref disappeared, he set on a course to raise him from the dead – which leads into another part of his history where he was suspected to have obtained the secret to immortality. And if this is any indication, he obviously did indeed gain it, which is fascinating…" He trailed off for a few moments and Lucy could almost imagine his eyes sparkling. "Then, after a few decades, we lost all information on him – almost as if he disappeared from written history, which is compelling. However, we do know that he is indeed at least a shadow mage." Lucy let out a sigh and ran a hand through her honey locks.

_At least._

"Okay, well…" She started, but then she was cut off by his animated voice. Really, this guy kind of reminded her of Natsu.

"And to answer the other half of your question, I do know quite a bit on Lover's Remorse. It is indeed an interesting affliction – no offense intended to present company, of course. It varies on the strength of the caster and their experience, but also on the emotional attachment of the two 'lovers' for lack of better term." This was news to Lucy, as her eyebrows were raised near her hairline in silent surprise. "And, according to your face right now, you were unaware of this, which isn't a surprise. It's actually quite surprising that you even knew what this curse was called. Eh, whatever. Anyways, it can cause them to be drawn to each other, but, in your case, that doesn't seem to be true…" He was still talking, but Lucy had zoned out, contemplating the last words he said.

_It can cause people to be drawn to each other… It depends on the strength of the caster… well obviously, Brok is extraordinarily strong and could give her all the symptoms if he damn well wanted to. But something about this doesn't seem like it was done to make her die – i-it… it almost seems like he just wants her and Natsu to stay away from each other._

_Why?_

"… If you're not going to listen to me, then leave," He suddenly growled, causing Lucy to jump out of her thoughts and shake her head.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking – what if this wasn't done so I would die? I feel no compulsion to go to Natsu as if my life depended on it… actually, a part of me wants to s_tay _as far from him as I can get," She admitted shamefully while tugging on her thumb absentmindedly. "But this feels like he just wants me to stay from Natsu – is that weird?" She heard the historian scoff.

"Do you think I care? I'm just here to inform your ignorant self of the enticing history of…" Lucy stopped listening again and instead focused on the floor. Honestly, this guy was just telling her about shit she already knows, so what's the point?

"… and it is an extremely volatile – hey!" He half-shouted with a whimper. Lucy glanced up at him and had to bite back a laugh as she saw him sprawled on the floor. A woman was standing above him with a raised fist.

"You can shut up now, Max." She hissed. Lucy saw a semblance between her and Erza. The still-hooded Max crawled away, mumbling something about how great Fiore was when the blue-headed woman walked up to Lucy with a warm smile – something that was severely lacking in this cold room.

She stuck out her hand. "I'm Mika. It's a pleasure to meet you, Lucy," Mika mumbled shyly and Lucy was surprised to see a blush on her cheeks. She grasped her hand and shook it.

"The pleasure is mine, Mika," The woman's face went deep red and she quickly spun around and walked to the outer edge of the circle. Confused, Lucy lowered her hand and moved her eyes to the floor once more.

"So, council, we are gathered here today to discuss the matters of Lucy Heartfilia and Natsu Dragneel, along with Brok," She spoke with authority that wasn't in her voice, and the circle muttered a monotonous "aye" although some were snickering. About what, Lucy did not know. "As you can see, Max," She gestured to the sobbing heap near the door, "Just likes to spout his knowledge and be creepy, and a smartass. So with that, we'd like to hear what _you _know." Lucy nodded and started speaking about the intense pain (and including her still-sore muscles because holy shit, it feels like she wrestled a bear and played chicken – and failed – with a dragon) as well as the dream, although she didn't know if that would help much because she didn't know if it actually happened. Because, let's be honest, dreams can be really weird on their own. When she was done rambling, Mika nodded.

"So, you were touched by dream-speak." She murmured, earning a startled glance from Lucy.

"What? I wasn't touched by anything, thank you," Mika blushed heavily at Lucy's words.

"U-uh, I wasn't i-implying that, Lucy," A few snickers were heard and Lucy's confusion deepened. "I m-meant that you have felt the effects of dream-speak first hand. We need to get in contact with Natsu Dragneel, because it would appear that he too was in this dream?" She ended in a question and Lucy nodded. "Max, go fetch me a communication lacrima. Preferably the one in my office." His hood slipped off as he bounded to his feet and Lucy could barely hold back the giggle that was tickling her tongue. He was a scrawny kid (or he looked like one) that had on extremely thick glasses and his face was scrunched into an indefinite scowl. Seriously, he looked like a pissed-off old person stuck in a young kid's body.

"What?!" He squeaked (_squeaked). _Honestly, Lucy's tongue was bleeding from her insistent biting. "But, that thing is huge!" Mika sent him a glare, and within minutes, the crystal ball (it was really extravagant, more so than the tiny, diamond-shaped one that was currently residing in her pocket) was right between Mika and Lucy. The young blonde's hands were shaking, and Mika sent her a reassuring smile, though when it was returned, the blue-haired woman flushed scarlet and turned to the lacrima.

Only one thought was on Lucy's mind: _Please don't be destroying anything, PLEASE_.

* * *

"THERE'S_ NOTHING HERE!" _Natsu's whole body was on fire and he was randomly punching the muddied paths and screaming about senseless things – at least in Freed's wholehearted opinion, that is. Groaning, the runes mage just placed his head in his palms while Cana threw yet another beer bottle at Natsu.

_Seriously, where was she all of this alcohol? She has one little bag!_

"Buck up, Natsu. Now, what the fuck are you yappin' about?" She slurred and Natsu just sighed and delivered the ground one more punch before finally explaining himself.

"Well, the scent is gone, which is weird, because it's only been a few days and seriously, I wouldn't forget his scent and scents just don't up and disappear and this _can't _be happening…" Freed sighed for the umpteenth time and looked at Natsu's defeated face and groaned again. The word _scent_ just kept circling in his head because it's been said more times in the past day than it has ever been said in the history of forever.

Okay, maybe he was exaggerating, but that wasn't the point here.

The point was that Natsu was bitching, Juvia was being super quiet (which wasn't too unusual, but it was creepy when she just stared at people for a long time) and Cana was drunk as fuck. Seriously, Freed couldn't have gotten a worse team to be stuck with.

"Natsu, just take a chill pill and we'll find something else to do, ya know?" Cana's sentence got cut off by a hiccup and she giggled before popping open a bottle of beer (where the hell was she getting these it wasn't even funny). Freed suddenly smelled smoke, and before he could barely even react, an entire bush was on fire. They were in a swamp – why was there a dry bush?

"Juvia!" He shouted, snapping her out of her reverie (probably about Gray) and she suddenly put out the fire with a massive tidal wave, which the green-haired mage was thankful for – but really? Did she have to wash them all away too? Now he was sitting in a muddy puddle and his red coat is now stained with brown and it pissed him off. To top it off, there was now a call coming from the lacrima. Groaning, he pulled it out of a pocket and clicked it on, certainly surprised by the face greeting him:

Mika Marrow with Lucy Heartfilia next to her, looking uncomfortable. Meanwhile, the unofficial leader of the magic council was flushed bright red, and Freed barely had time to utter a hello before she was down to business.

"Hello, Freed Justine, is it?" His mouth opened to respond, but she answered for him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, but is Natsu Dragneel around? We need to speak to him – these are urgent matters," Freed nodded and then got up, brushed off his coat unsuccessfully (basically just making it more messy) and strode over to Natsu. He smacked him on his stupid, pink head.

"Ow!" He whined and Freed sent him a not-so-subtle glare.

"Freed – you look terrible," Lucy suddenly piped up and he blushed, half because of embarrassment and the other half was anger and he just dropped his gentlemanly attitude for the sake of wanting to be pissed off.

"Shut up – blame Natsu."

"Why me?! Juvia's the one who dumped water on us!"

"You were the one who nearly lit a forest on fire!" Seriously, his patience was thinning rapidly. Then he noticed a light go on in Natsu's black eyes and before he could even blink, the lacrima was now in Natsu's still-on-fire hands. "N-Natsu – extinguish yourself!" He heard a soft 'oh' in response, then the orangey glow died away. At least the damn thing was fire proof. _Right_?

"Luce! How are you!?" Natsu exclaimed cheerfully. The runes mage never really realized how incredibly loud Natsu was until recently, and he wished that he was still ignorant about it. Honestly, how did Team Natsu even function? Sighing, he stalked away from the weird dragon slayer to gather the other two.

"I'm good, Natsu," She smiled, but Natsu could see the pain that she was obviously hiding, but he let it go, not wanting to bother her about it (but it _hurt_ seeing the pain he causes her).

"Awesome! Hey – when you get back can we go on a mission?! 'Cause Freed is a total downer and Cana won't stop throwing bottles at me," He complained and Lucy fidgeted nervously before letting out a little giggle, and Natsu took a tiny second to bask in the sound.

"Of course, Natsu, of course," Lucy suddenly shook her head and smiled at the blue-haired person next to her, who of course started to blush heavily again. "This is Mika, who is a part of the magic council, and she's of high authority, so be respectful," She was talking slowly and efficiently, and soon enough he was nodding along with her.

"Of course, Luce! I'm the petition of respect!" He shouted while fist-pumping the air and causing the lacrima to shake a little. Lucy visibly winced because his voice was causing a tiny headache, and she immediately felt bad when she saw his smile fade. Then she tossed him a teasing smile.

"It's 'definition of respect,' Natsu, not petition," She chastised softly, earning herself a lopsided grin.

"Whatever – it doesn't really matter – so why'd you call?" Natsu asked abruptly and she turned to Mika to answer, who was now blushing even harder.

"U-uh, yes," Natsu could hear her heartbeat through the lacrima. He wondered what was making her so nervous. "Did you have a dream about Lucy and Brok, Natsu?" She asked, and all signs of shakiness or nervousness were gone.

"Yep, I did," His voice darkened a bit and his eyes dimmed some. "It was weird. Kind of like you, Mika-and-Lucy-weird, but less flustered." She started sputtering at this, obviously caught off guard, while Lucy just let out a tiny giggle. Natsu swore he heard laughter in the background.

"Natsu – I had no idea you even knew what that word was. Where'd you learn it?" That's what Natsu liked about Lucy – she may be mean sometimes, but whenever she asked him questions or something, she never was condescending or anything like that.

"Mira told me what it meant because you were apparently 'flustered' after I slept with you for the first time," Lucy's face immediately went rose-red and she planted her face firmly in her palms.

"Natsu, I've told you a million times that you word that the wrong way," She glanced apologetically at Mika, who was now wide-eyed and her jaw was smacking the floor. "Sorry, he has a bad way of explaining things sometimes – like now." She sent him a sharp glare and he whimpered.

"Lucy's scary…" He complained and the blonde girl just glared. Meanwhile Mika was blushing heavily and stuttering out an extraordinarily pained giggle, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

"U-uh it-t's o-o-okay…" Mika mumbled, barely even looking at Natsu anymore. "So, you h-had the dream too?" She asked, trying to regain her bearings. Natsu on the other hand was completely chill and started chattering immediately.

"Yea! It was so weird and really white and Lucy was there and that bastard Brok was there and I can't recall every detail because I was mad but I know that he insulted me ("You insulted him too, Natsu.") and it pissed me off, but like really pissed me off, even more than the stripper does," He finished, and Mika was at a loss for words once more.

"T-the stripper…?" She asked meekly.

"Don't ask." Lucy muttered. Mika managed to get out a strained laugh and nodded.

"Well, okay, thank you for your time, Natsu. We have to go now, goodbye," Natsu saw Lucy give a small wave and a cast him a beautiful smile before their images flickered into nothing. Sighing, he dropped it on the still-wet ground and laid back. He was planning on relaxing, that is, until a beer bottle smacked sharply into his temple.

"OWWWW!" He screamed, jumping to his feet and glaring daggers at Cana, who was just smiling and sipping on something in a silver flask. Freed's hand was twitching on top of the hilt of his sword and Juvia was squealing about something going on in her mind, and Natsu really didn't want to know what.

"Cana, calm down," Freed tried to reason, but she just flashed him a coy grin and then sat down near Natsu, who was inching away from her.

"Gray-samaaaaaa! Juvia loves you so much~" She squealed happily, and Freed just pushed her to the ground so that instead of standing up and daydreaming, she was now sitting… and still doing daydreaming (and judging by the blush on her face, nothing in her mind was currently PG).

"Okay, guys, we need to think of what we're supposed to do," The green-haired mage said, but, honestly? Nobody was listening to the voice of reason. Sighing and feeling the strong urge to burst into tears (and hunt down Laxus, but that wasn't the point), he flopped onto his back and stared over at the still-smoking bush.

_Why me?_

* * *

_Hey guys, I'm so soRRY BECAUSE I'VE HAD WRITER'S BLOCK AND OH MY GOD PLEASE KICK ME FOR MAKING ALL OF YOU LOVELY PEOPLE WAIT. :( LIke you don't even have to leave me cookies this time because i've been so mean (but i would still like it cause cookies are good. especially when the come in the form of reviews) anyways i know this is boring and not much goes on, but i thought the other chapters were just really kind of intense and shit so i decided to make this a little more lighthearted (and probably failed). but anyways, mika marrow is made up, and i don't know if she's going to play much of a part in this story, so yea._

_There will be more action next chapter i prOMISE! we're gonna visit gajeel, erza, lisanna and alzack! yeeeaAHH!_

**Coolgal342: **_I love your reviews so much and I am soooo sooRRYY this took so long! I hope you like my weird made-up council members lol (was too lazy to go look up actual cannon ones). And maybe, if you want, i can write a Jellal FF?! Or something!? ;)  
__(slowly sinks the NaLi ship)_

**animation art2000-2013: **_*kisses your cheeks like they do in france (it is france, right? lol? cause if it isn't france imma feel so stupid XD)* _


	9. For Bunny Girl

_Enjoy my lovely little fluffy-kins. (yes you are all fluffy kins now. ._.)_

* * *

It was silent. Too silent. Gajeel stared around the eerily quiet town, completely creeped out by the weirdness of this situation. It just looked… abandoned, like everyone up and left. Sighing, he stalked to what looked like a still-active merchants stand and took a scrap of metal, ignoring the protests of his current partner, who happened to be the scrawny white-haired girl. What was her name? Oh yea, Lisanna. That one. Erza and Alzack had gone up the mountain to check out the peak while he stayed in this damn-weird town with this weird-ass girl.

His luck was certainly something to be envied.

Not.

Growling, he threw an apple at the girl to shut her up, but she just caught it and started eating it. Honestly, he doesn't know why he even went on this trip/mission/whatever/thing – oh yea.

For bunny girl.

Damn her for forgiving him – if she just hated him for what he did to her back when he was in Phantom Lord then he would happily be on his marry way and could brood in peace – BUT NO. She had to actually give him a second chance. Sighing, the iron dragon slayer watched the shadows as him and Lisanna munched on their food in silence. That is, until he saw her posture stiffen and her eyes narrow.

"What?" He muttered. Lisanna's blue eyes sweeped through the empty streets warily. "Why the fuck are you freaking out?" Gajeel could hear her heartbeat speeding up and it was annoying him. She held a finger to her lips – not even bothering to spare him a glance, mind you – and just stared at the empty alleys and empty streets and empty windows. Did he mention empty? Then her apple fell to the ground and rolled to a stop. Its vibrant red was very stark against the white snow, which happened to be covering _everything, _which was pissing him off because they were too goddamn far north.

"Someone's here," She murmured. It was like a whisper, but softer. Like a breath. He didn't respond, but instead listened… and listened… and was about to give up, until he too heard it.

An extremely soft sound, almost like a small wind on a not-so-windy day.

His red-as-blood eyes widened ever-so-slightly and he chomped on the last of his metal before poking the girl's arm rather roughly. She didn't seem to mind, but cast him an annoyed look regardless. She kind of reminded him of shrimp (except way less shrimpy – taller), weirdly enough.

"I hear it," He muttered, but the interesting thing was, how did _she _hear it? He glanced over and for the first time (for fuck's sake how could he miss them) he noticed that she had two cat ears on her head, sticking out rather plainly for him to see. That explains it. Then, they struck. It was really quite sudden and extremely unexpected, but it was enough time for them both to react accordingly.

"Iron Dragon's Roar!" He yelled, and almost immediately a couple of houses were disappearing in a flying show of sparkling snow and random wooden planks. Lisanna was moving in a flurry of cat claws and tiger-print (and bare skin). And, surprisingly enough, they were in perfect sync. Then he heard the tell-tale whistling of something flying fast through the air. That's when he saw them glinting dark against the snow, mostly a blur.

"Lisanna!" Gajeel yelled in warning – weird, he remembered the girl's name. Her eyes barely had time to register the dart moving at top speed to her chest and she barely had time to lunge to the side. Luckily, no pierced hearts today (god Levy would've been pissed), but it still hit her arm pretty hard, staining that white skin with scarlet. She let out a gasp, and instantly he was there, picking her up and jumping onto a roof top.

"Dumb ass," He muttered, earning a half-hearted glare from her. Gajeel just kept the fragile-looking Lisanna in his arms instead of setting her on the cold snow, and ripped off a strip of his cloak (it was already tattered as shit) so he could use it as a makeshift bandage.

"This is gonna hurt like a bitch, so, I don't know, bite your tongue or something." He growled unsympathetically, and she just nodded faintly as a response. Gajeel mumbled something about keeping watch (which she probably didn't hear) and then ripped the dart out of her arm, along with a gasp from her and a wave of fresh blood to come dripping onto his shirt.

Really, his shirt? Not cool.

Hissing, he wrapped her arm as well as he could and after he finished, Gajeel helped her stand. Even though she was obviously woozy from blood loss, she still pushed away from him with a mumbled thanks, and he just nodded. And it was weird, because the shadows were still on the ground and were no longer attacking – as if they couldn't see them. Or they were out of range or something equally unlikely.

"G-Gajeel, what's going on?" She asked hesitantly, and he could hear the chattering of her teeth. Dumbass shouldn't have taken over a damn cat in skimpy lingerie. Sighing, he just shook his head.

"No fucking clue," He responded. The apple was still on the ground where they had last been, but now he was noticing that those "shadows" made absolutely no footprints.

"They don't make any footprints." Lisanna suddenly murmured, and he growled, because that was _his _line.

"Yea, I noticed, Sherlock," he grumbled, and she sent him a scathing glare with her blue eyes.

"So? That means that they have no weight to them, yet their making noises? How? This doesn't make any sense," She muttered, and Gajeel honestly tried to find a reason to argue with her, but when he drew a blank, he just muttered a curse. Then, an idea came to him.

"All right, I'll go down there," He offered, and Lisanna just shot him an incredulous look that basically said 'are you fucking stupid or something?' and yes, he was, but whatever, right? Then, surprisingly enough, she stepped back and gestured to the ground below them.

"Fine, just don't get yourself shot. Some of us don't have clothing to spare," She joked, and he nodded before jumping off of the roof and into impending chaos. But, weirdly enough, he felt alright with this weird Strauss girl backing him up. And just as his feet hit the ground with a soft crunch, he came to a startling revelation, causing him to groan loudly.

_I'm becoming a fucking softie._

* * *

They were on the outskirts of town and completely worn out. Their breaths were coming in shuddering puffs and damn it all if her hair tie hadn't gone missing. Laki sighed out another heavy breath and inhaled the seawater-scented air before going round their little circle and checking them all for damage. Of course, they all had a few nicks and quite a few bruises, but nothing that wouldn't go away over time, thankfully.

"As I suspected; they can't leave the town, so we're okay," She murmured, staring up at the now-dark sky and wishing for a second that it was day time because the she felt like the darkness was watching her. It was unnerving and more than a little creepy. Gray sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"How did you figure all of that out so quickly?" The ice mage asked, glancing over at her. She was still standing and staring up at the sky while tapping her chin, deep in thought.

"It was easy to deduce, really, we just had to pay attention. And I read somewhere about 'shadow people.' It's just a… a spell where you can basically steal people's souls and draw out their deepest and darkest fears; the worst parts of them, to put it simply, and then turn that part of them into your minions. But I've only ever heard of a few shadows at a time… but a whole town?" She was rambling, but luckily, they were all listening. It was silent for a few moments until the dragon slayer spoke up.

"Yea, well that's a fucking fun and everything, but the bastards broke my damn sound pod." Laki cast the blonde an indifferent glance.

"No one cares." She informed him, and he scoffed. Elfman cleared his throat.

"So why can't they leave Hargeon?" He asked, and surprisingly, there was no mention of 'manliness' in the sentence. Laki adjusted her glasses and tugged her cloak a little tighter around her.

"Well, that's the variable that can be changeable, I guess. In the article that told me about shadow people, it included that sometimes, depending on the caster's strength, the shadows can follow around certain people, like an assassin. Or, they can be bound to one place, like these people. And sometimes, over a large quantity – they considered ten plus large – then usually they were bound to the place they died." Her voice faded away and the ocean was heard crashing in the distance.

"So, basically, the town of Hargeon was slaughtered?" Gray asked, disbelief coating his voice. Laki nodded sadly, her purple hair falling forward.

"Yea, that's what I've gathered." She murmured. Laxus groaned in response and threw the broken sound pod at Gray, who rolled out of the way and sent a glare to the dragon slayer. "I have to report this to Mira, alright, guys?" Gray and Laxus were fighting over something – she couldn't see what – so they didn't answer, but Elfman stood up.

"Real men check on their sisters." He said gravely, and she smiled.

"Yea."

* * *

It was dark in Fairy Tail. The guild doors were wide open, and the surprisingly cold breeze drifted dryly through the guild hall. It made the one lone person inside shudder in her sleep.

That person was Mirajane.

A weird buzzing sound was grating against her eardrums and her glazed blue eyes opened. She had the most horrid headache. Groaning, she sat up, only to fall back down again. The buzzing was louder and it was coming from her apron, which was untied and on the floor right beneath her. She reached into the pockets blindly and found the lacrima. Mira fumbled for a switch before it glared into brightness and startled her eyes into squinting. Soon enough, she focused on the pensive image of Laki and the grinning face of Elfman.

"Hey Mira-nee-chan!" He said in a rather chipper manner, but it disappeared instantly when Mira winced and placed a pale hand on her forehead. "Are you okay?" He asked, all joking gone. He also grabbed the lacrima from Laki and all Mira could really see was the bridge of his nose and his eyes. Sighing, she nodded.

"Just a headache, Elf-nii-chan, I'll be fine," She reassured him with a sunny (and fake) smile. He nodded and gave the lacrima back to Laki, who glared at him.

"Well, we just found out some… rather bad news." Mira's eyebrows rose. "You remember that article on shadow people that you gave to me?" The white-haired woman nodded, not understanding what it had to do with anything. "There were shadow people here. The entire town – no one was left." Mira's blood ran cold.

"What? Who could do that?!" She yelled suddenly, sitting up (her head pounded in response, but she ignored it). Laki just pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I don't know, Mira, but – will you two shut up?!" She yelled at the (apparent) scuffle happening a few feet away. It died down after a few seconds, but Mira heard the muttered cusses. "But, I have a feeling that it was Brok. There was an alleged sighting here, right? So maybe he passed through and decided he didn't want to leave any evidence." The last word dripped with venom. "Speaking of Hargeon, Mira, could you check to see if we have any requests since the 'sighting'?" Mira blinked, but nodded.

"I'll call you back if I find anything." They said their goodbyes and hung up, and Mira got up to turn on the lights and maybe find some damn herb to kill this headache.

* * *

"Erza, we need to be careful," Alzack whispered, tugging the poncho tighter around him as the freezing wind whipped his cheeks. The woman walking in front of him nodded. He wasn't paying much attention to where he was stepping (because his mind was on the cold) and suddenly bumped into Erza. Alzack immediately muttered apologies, but the intense look on her face shut him up.

"Do you feel that?" He was just about to ask, 'feel what?' when the question died on his lips.

Because he felt it.

It felt really cold – colder than the snow and even colder than the nipping wind. It was dark and palpable; he really felt like he could tangle it in his fingers. It was so heavy and oppressing, he just wanted to run to Bisca and Asuka and wrap those two in his arms and never let them go.

His finger twitched on the trigger of his gun.

But he couldn't, because he had to do this for his guild members, and for the rest of Earthland (if this guy was as dangerous as he seemed, and judging by this magic sense, he was horrible). They climbed up the peak warily, and they reached the abrupt top rather quickly. It was weird, because it jutted down as soon as they hit the top in almost a weird, bowl-shaped valley, and right in the center of that valley was a lonesome log cabin.

Alzack really wanted to turn around, and he had the feeling that Erza did too.

But she just stood there, glaring down at the innocent-looking house with a twitching eyebrow.

"I can feel him," Alzack mumbled into the howling wind and the redhead nodded.

"I can too."

"We should turn back; find the others." He suggested, but she shook her head.

"We'll give them a call, but we won't leave." She argued, and she was right, like always. Slumping his shoulders, he nodded. Erza reached down to get her lacrima, when the air grew really heavy. Alzack was literally forced into a kneeling position because of it, and Erza was trying to brace herself, but failed, and fell into the deep snow too. It felt like gravity was working against them.

"So, Fairy Tail, you came to me, eh?" It was a dark, quiet voice and it was snake-like. Venomous. Alzack instantly recoiled and searched for a source, but none came. It was like he was all around, and Erza seemed to sense this too.

"Damn it, Brok, come out!" She ground out, pressing against the cold ground with all of her might; trying to lift herself up. A chuckle was his response.

"Maybe, maybe not. However, you two would make lovely little subordinates. But alas, your magic is too strong for that spell – you would be too risky." Suddenly, the atmosphere was changing, morphing, into something else. The snow was melting and it was suddenly growing incredibly humid. It was so hard to see what was going on, because that same pressure was on their backs, forcing them down. Then they were tumbling across the mountain until Alzack slammed into something hard, and then something equally as hard crashed into him, causing him to groan.

Erza pushed herself to her feet shakily, and of course, she had rammed into him, and he had been pushed into a freaking rock-hard cabin.

_I'm always a cushion._

Then, standing in front of them was a dark-skinned man who had silver eyes. He was grinning. Alzack felt bile rise in his throat and he spat at the dudes' feet, then raised a gun, pointing it at his head.

"Brok." He spat. The man grinned.

"Alzack Connell – a pleasure, it really is. Your wife is a beauty, by the way." He said, glancing at Erza.

"She's not my wife."

"I know." Alzack's blood ran cold at those words (and a laughing Bisca danced on the backs of his eyelids). "And gun magic – it's a fascinating type, and quite powerful." Then a shot rang out, and Erza gasped uncharacteristically. A bullet was sticking in his chest, and it was bleeding. His smile wasn't gone. "Alas, not strong enough to kill me, young Connell." He quickly pried the still-hot bullet out of his chest and dropped it to the pure-white ground, staining it red and Alzack felt sick.

"And you're daughter is quite cute, you know. Has your hair. Wouldn't want those pesky green locks, now would we, buddy-old-pal?" He asked cheerfully, and Alzack slumped to his knees, feeling terribly depressed all of the sudden.

"No, no, no! Stop it!"

"Alzack – what's going on?!" Erza asked, kneeling next to him. The black-haired man stared up at Brok, whose silvery eyes flashed with malice, but that _fucking smile _stayed in place. Her head whipped around to meet Brok's eyes. "What are you doing to him?" She asked menacingly. If possible, his grin got wider.

"Just reminding him who's boss." Suddenly, in Erza's eyes, he was morphing into an impossibly handsome blue-haired man with a distinct tattoo on his face. Except one eye was silver and Erza was fighting back a wave of dizziness. "Right Erza?"

"J-Jellal?" She asked warily, reaching out a pale, cold hand to him, which he grasped in his. A smile broke out on her features. "Jellal!" Then his hand squeezed hers and warmth flooded up her arm and she smiled, except it faded when his hand started squeezing hers harder and harder.

"J-Jellal, you're hurting me," Erza mumbled, trying to twist her hand out of his. Suddenly, his grin became wide and malicious and then she heard a sickening crack in her hand. Pain seared up her arm like a bullet and she hissed.

"Erza." He said the one word fondly, and then her vision was darkening and before she knew it, there were too-cold lips on her forehead before her world went black.

The familiar dark-skinned man grinned and slung both of the fairies over his shoulder, carrying them in the cabin and tossing them haphazardly on the floor. He then sat down at a crystal lacrima and grinned at the image of a white-haired girl standing on a roof (and impossibly underdressed), watching a black-haired man dodge darts and arrows with a worried look.

"Lisanna Strauss and Gajeel Redfox." He mused. "What interesting characters; this shall indeed be enticing."

* * *

_Alright, so Brok may be a little weird, right? Well, anyways, this was surprisingly fun to write and I think my writer's block might be going away omgnoway?! Anyways, if you want to read something (stupid) funny, then go check out my hilarious (not) new story, "this is all wrong" lol. Idgaf if you do, but I would apprectiate it. Anyways, while writing this, I just realized that a Lisanna x Gajeel friendship would be so fucking amazing. I don't even know. Anyways. Love you all reviews are hope and harmony and more importantly chocolate chip cookies._

**Coolgal342: **_I love torturing Freed. It's fun. His whole "don't-break-the-rules" persona is so easy to screw with. xD And you only know Siegrain because he's a carbon copy of Jellal… literally. :P And Mika x Lucy…? (lol no you don't have to worry. Or do you?)_

**BookProf101: **_I demolished it and wrote the longest chappy yet! WOOT! And I am very happy you liked the whole light-hearted chapter thing, I was afraid some people were going to get mad because this supposed to be a pretty heavy story, but thank you! :D_

**Guest: **_What is your naaaaame?! And yes, I feel bad for Freed as well. I'm happy you like Mika; she was created on a whim. XD_


	10. Weakness

_bitches number 10! woot! enjoy. _

* * *

"Should we just head back to the guild?" Cana asked nobody in particular while sipping her martini. Really, they needed to take her to an AA meeting or something. Freed sighed and ran a hand through his green locks.

"I don't know – I'll call Mira later and ask." They had sat at a different table from Natsu, because, let's face it, nobody wanted to be around _that _when you go out for lunch. But still, regardless of being two tables away from him, a chicken bone still landed on their table. Freed grimaced at it.

"Juvia sees no point in Freed-san waiting – the food won't be here for a while longer." The water mage said, sending him an imploring look with her azure eyes. Sighing yet again, he stood up and brushed invisible dust off his red coat.

"Then I shall be back, ladies." He said politely, walking away from the group. He stepped outside into the cool morning air, taking a deep breath before pulling out his lacrima and calling the guild. Mira answered immediately.

"Hey Freed!" She greeted enthusiastically, and he heard a faint sizzling sound – she must be cooking. Freed smiled.

"Good morning, Mira. I called to give you an update; we officially have no leads. And by no leads, I mean nothing. The scent was completely gone – almost as if it had been wiped clean magically." She raised a perfect white eyebrow and glanced at him with her sapphire eyes.

"That's interesting. I'll have to –," Freed heard a faint shout. "- I'll be there in a minute, Macao! Okay, I have to go, Freed, but just wait for now until I can get in contact with Erza's team." Her features clouded over for a moment and she bit her lip. The runes mage fought off a furious blush and coughed.

"What's up with Erza?" He asked curiously (albeit a little nervously because she just looked so _pretty _and –).

She frowned. "I don't know. Everyone else has contacted me – you, Laki, even Master has called me to say that Lucy was being questioned by the council, but no word from Erza or Gajeel or…" Mira bit her lip a little harder. "… Or Lisanna." Freed nodded understandingly.

"Your sister is strong, like her siblings. She'll be fine." He reassured her. She smiled, but that scared look wouldn't leave her eyes. Freed was positive it never would. "Speaking of Lucy – any luck with the council?" He asked, trying to get her mind off of her sister. When she thought about Lisanna she didn't think too straight. Mira smiled and redirected her attention to whatever she was cooking.

"Yes, yes. Apparently, Mika Marrow has been extremely helpful, along with some kid named Max-," Freed's eyes got wide and he interrupted Mira in an ungentlemanly way.

"Wait – Max Lore? Like, the _historian?" _He asked with wide eyes. Mira nodded. "Wow. She met somebody who has infinite knowledge of Fiore and doesn't do interviews! I would kill to meet him!" He hissed while staring into her eyes seriously. She laughed.

"I'll pass that along. But, I have to get going. For now…" She paused and her eyebrows scrunched together. "For now, head to Grajinshoo. That would be our best bet I guess. I'll tell Laki to head there once their done investigating Hargeon… Lucy is coming back to the guild for now and I'll have Levy start researching some things. Okay, well, good luck, Freed!" Another shout was heard and she smiled at Freed and waved before the lacrima went black. He tucked it in his pocket and walked back into the restaurant, only to stop at the doorway with his jaw on the ground. Some of the tables were burnt to a crisp and there was water damage due to Juvia's attempts to put out the apparent fire, and the manager was standing with a blank look behind the bar.

Freed's fist's clenched. "NATSU!"

* * *

Erza's head was pounding. She cracked open her honey-brown eyes only to quickly block out the offensive light.

_W-what's going... going on?_

She opened her eyes once more and glared through the stark pain that was pinching the inside of her head. The backs of her eyelids were sorely missed, but she pushed herself into a sitting position and hissed. She heard a small chuckle, and Erza whipped her head around to glare at the intruder.

_Wait… intruder? Where a-am I?_

Her eyes adjusted to the light – which happened to be coming from a roaring fire place (she only now noticed the crackling) – and she was surprised to see the man they had been looking for staring at her with amused, silver eyes.

"Where am I? Where is Alzack?" Even though the spots on her vision was blocking some of his face, she could clearly see the broad grin he was giving her.

"You are on Mount Grajinshoo, along with your little partner. Mister Redfox and Miss Strauss are currently mulling over the oddity that is '_Shadow People'." _She frowned and rubbed her temple.

"How do you know what they're talking about?" She asked, not understanding. Her head was throbbing painfully with each pulse.

"Oh, does our little Titania have a headache?" He asked in a cooing, condescending voice, completely ignoring her question. She growled.

"Fuck off, Brok. Tell me – where is Alzack!" Erza yelled, jumping to her feet and sending him a rather impressive glare and ignoring the pounding in her skull. He raised his hands in mock-surrender.

"Your sweet Connell boy is beneath us, in the cellar. I believe he is sleeping, but I could be wrong. You are free to go look," He gestured to a small doorway with a rickety stair case leading down to a dark room. She shook her head. Brok cocked an eyebrow. "Oh? I see. Well, there is food right there if you'd like some. I am, after all, nothing if not a hospitable host." He said extravagantly. She just continued to glare, and then painfully pulled a sword out of the wooden wall slowly, wincing when her unresponsive (and gruesomely bent at a horrid angle) hand twitched. He just stared with his normal, cocky stare.

"I am not here to play games, Brok." She snarled, brandishing her broadsword and sending him an icy look. He sighed and set his hands on his lap.

"And I am not here to play games either, young lady. I am simply a normal mage who was being ambushed by the Titania and Mister Alzack Connell." He stood up and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can play games though, if that's what you like." He waved his hand, and then her sword disappeared. Everything disappeared actually, and she was in a black, endless plane.

"Brok? BROK!" She screamed and started running. That empty, hollow feeling was spreading coldness throughout her chest; the feeling that told her that her magic reserves were depleted. Then she heard the small pitter-patter of feet after her, and then crying.

"Erza-san! Help me!" Erza whipped her head around, red hair flying, and she spotted a familiar face. Fear flooded her heart.

"Wendy! What are you doing here?!" She yelled, sprinting to the girl, who had collapsed to her knees. Blue locks were fanning around her face, blocking it from view and Erza was panicking. "Wendy! Wendy, are you hurt?!" The requip mage kneeled next to the crying dragon slayer.

"Erza-san… I'm hurt. You hurt me." Erza stared in shock. The younger girl raised her head slowly and the older mage's breath caught in her throat painfully.

"W-Wendy… I didn't do this…" She was staring at the fact that, just like her, one of her eyes was missing. Blood was dripping down her chin and tears were flowing freely out of the other, beautiful brown eye. "Wendy…" She reached out to the girl, but she jerked away, face contorted.

"YOU DID THIS!" She screamed. Erza blinked, uncomprehending. "You did this to me! You weren't strong enough to protect me!"

"W-Wendy… I-I'm so…"

"I have no daddy because of you." Erza's heart clenched and she spun around, only to see the sad, sad face of a toddler… _Asuka_. She was glaring angrily at the requip mage. "You weren't strong enough to protect him – he left me and mommy."

"N-no…" Erza stumbled back and landed on her tailbone, only to be greeted with the crying face of her best friend, Lucy.

"You made it so I couldn't be with the love of my life! You weren't strong enough to save me from this! Erza – _you_ did this!"

"No… NO!" She yelled, clenching her brown eyes shut and grabbed the sides of her head. "No!"

"You did this, Erza Scarlet." Her blood ran cold at the voice.

_No, not him, please, not him, not him, not him._

"You destroy everything – all because you're not strong enough." She opened her eyes, only to see the sneering face of… of Jellal. "You were never strong enough. You couldn't even protect me – even after I had saved your life." His beautiful eyes glared down at her, and a choked sob ripped through her throat.

"J-Jellal… I didn't…"

"STOP DENYING IT, ERZA! You're just weak! Too weak to protect your nakama – the ones who would die for you!" Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Weak." He scoffed.

"Weak." She repeated with a broken voice. "I'm weak."

* * *

"She said to head to Grajinshoo." Laki murmured. Gray groaned, while Laxus just glared silently. Elfman nodded.

"As men, we will not complain!" He roared and the purple-haired girl just pressed her palm to her face.

"Yes, yes whatever. Apparently the team that went there hasn't responded, and according to what Mira said, the council is going to inform the other guilds and see if there are any guild member's they can spare." The ice mage went unusually silent for a few moments.

"Erza's team went there. I hope they're all right…" Gray muttered while staring at the grass with dark blue eyes.

The blonde man growled and stood up. "Idiot, they're fine. Like Titania will lose. She'll kick your ass for having so little faith in her." Translation: _They're okay. Don't worry. _Gray scowled at the burly man, but just turned to Laki. She was standing still with her eyes closed, almost as if she was searching for something. Gray raised an eyebrow.

Her brown orbs flashed open in the dim morning light. "If I recall correctly, there is an s-plug rental place here on the outskirts of town." Laxus sent her a glare.

"'If you recall?' Did you fuckin' study the place before we came?" He asked rhetorically. She turned to him and blinked innocently.

"Yes." He scoffed and muttered something about nerds. "It's about ten minutes north at a run. In fact, Laxus could probably smell the oil from here." She glanced at him expectantly.

"I smell the damn shit, okay? It was just overwhelmed by the salt-water earlier. Let's go, you slow-ass people." He stomped off without warning, and Laki struggled not to laugh at his childish antics. Everyone followed him to the now-abandoned rental place completely on guard. After a few tense moments of silence and glaring at the harmless shadows, Laxus cleared his throat.

"I don't sense anything." Gray nodded in agreement, but Laki just continued to glare suspiciously. The dragon slayer hopped onto the smallest car they could find and hooked his wrist onto the device that draws your magical energy out. Laki sat down next to him so she could navigate, Elfman climbed in the cab to sleep and since he took up the entire area, Gray sat on the roof.

"So where're we goin', kid?" He asked gruffly while grimacing at the steady drain on his power. The only girl there sent him a glare, but just pointed.

"We're going to go through Magnolia, then it's nearly a straight shot to Mount Grajinshoo. I'm assuming they're all at the little town where the last Lover's Remorse case was at… hmm…" Laxus shot her a glare, urging her to hurry up with her explanation. She sighed.

"Whatever, just go to Magnolia and we'll go from there." He didn't need any more prodding. Soon enough, they were flying down the bumpy dirt road to their home.

* * *

"Ugh…" Alzack lifted his throbbing head from the cold ground. "B-Bisca…?" He asked nobody in particular, because he knew there wouldn't be a response. With aching arms, he pushed himself up into a shaky sitting position, only to stop dead when he heard an earth-shattering shriek. With his eyes still adjusting to the eerie darkness, he stumbled to his feet and immediately fell against a cold, rough wall. He instantly recognized it as brick, but he still couldn't see anything. Glaring at the shadows, he pushed against the wall just as the scream broke off into a chilling silence, only broken by his shallow breaths. He found a doorway with a staircase leading up into a room with a warm light emanating from it. Alzack swore softly as the day's – or was it yesterday's? – events came crashing back to him.

Brok got to him. Cursing profusely under his breath, he started to painfully climb the stairs, and as he got closer to the top, he could hear a soft mewling.

_Erza._

Every thought left him as a sudden energy coursed through his veins at the thought of a fallen nakama. There was no way he would lose if she was hurt – he couldn't. Glaring, he pulled a gun out of thin air and grimaced at the drop in his magic power. He reached the top of the stairs and blinked at the light – it really was quite bright in this room. A clap resounded through the rather… _cozy _looking room, if not for the passed-out Erza on the ground and a creepily smiling mage.

"Brok." He spat the name as if it was poison.

"Alzack! Oh, you joined the party. I'm so glad." The dark-skinned man looked far too chipper considering the circumstances. The guns mage glared.

"Can you really expect me to be happy about that?" He asked with a scathing tone. Brok blinked innocently for a moment (even looking like a child) before grinning maliciously.

"I suppose not, but I beg of you to cooperate. Wouldn't want you to go home only to find no one waiting for you, now would we?" He chirped, and Alzack repressed a shudder at the hidden meaning. Silently, he moved to crouch by the quietly-crying Titania.

"What did you do to her?" He asked with a soft authority – one that Brok chose to ignore.

"Oh – her? I just gave her a dream to remember me by." The silver-eyed man said with a wave of his hand. Alzack glared hard at the back of his bald head, but just turned back to the shivering mage on the floor, who was now murmuring 'I'm sorry' over and over. He brushed the hair out of her tightly shut eyes and squeezed the barrel of his gun. It disappeared. Brok whistled his appreciation.

"That was pretty impressive – not many people can hone their magic to the point of requipping. Honestly, Alzack, you're an interesting person – under different circumstances I might even ask you to, oh, what do kids do these days? Go out for a beer? Well then I'd ask you to have a beer with me." Noticing the guns' mage's droll stare, he waved a flippant hand. "I said under different circumstances – god, you and Titania are such party poopers."

Alzack dropped his head into his hands and sighed at this guy's weird personality and mood swings. "Can you take her out of this… this _nightmare, _please?" He asked, trying to help Erza in any way possible because right now, he really wasn't doing much on the helping aspect of things. Brok tapped his chin and cocked his head.

"No. This is much more interesting. It doesn't matter anyways, she'll pass out soon from exhaustion." Alzack's features twisted into something crossed between confusion and rage.

"She's already asleep…?"

Brok scoffed. "No, she's in a comatose state; captured in an endless dream. The only way to exit is to give up, and we both know that Erza Scarlet doesn't know when to admit defeat." Alzack stared in horror.

"T-that's terrible!" He exclaimed, glaring at the man who still wore a carefree smile.

"Oh Alzack, really, I would be less dramatic if I were you. And don't push my buttons – I think we both know what would happen if you angered me." His silver eyes flashed, and then he spun on his heel and dropped into an extravagant-looking chair and stared into a giant lacrima.

_What am I going to do? I can't argue, otherwise he'll hurt my family, and I don't know what to do about Erza… _

He glanced at her now-sweating form. She was twitching in her sleep and her lips were forming words, but no sounds were coming out. Sighing and staring at the younger girl with pity, he shifted so that her head was resting on his lap and stroked her hair, trying to bring her some comfort at least.

_Please, somebody, come soon._

* * *

Lucy stared at the lacrima in shock as Makarov put it down slowly while grimacing. Her hands were shaking and Levy was looking as equally as shocked, while Wendy was barely holding back tears.

"They're all heading to Mount Grajinshoo." He informed the three girls while wearing a pensive expression. A tense silence followed for a few moments until the blonde girl suddenly stood up and ran away from camp they had set up to the horses and carriage.

"Lucy – what are you doing?!" Wendy shouted after her. Lucy glanced back with a sad expression.

"This has an s-plug setting, right Master?" She asked while slinging a saddle on Yumi, who just whinnied with a sort of annoyed expression (as annoyed as a horse could get, that is). He nodded gravely, already knowing what she was doing and not bothering to stop her; his children could make their own choices. "I'm going to the mountain – I would suggest that Levy and Wendy follow behind me on Cato, but I don't think they can ride. It'll be a two day's trip if I ride hard and fast." She was already mounted on the beige horse, who was just stamping her hooves.

"Lucy, you can't go alone!" Levy pleaded with tears in her beautiful brown eyes. Lucy smiled.

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me."

The master cleared his throat. "You two can take the s-plug car to the mountain." He said, gesturing to the two mages who were looking uncomfortable and so not confident.

"That'd be the best decision, since you and I are the only ones who can ride a horse." Lucy murmured while grabbing onto the reigns with a slightly shaky hand. Makarov nodded.

"They'll be there – go, Lucy. Go and do what you have to." Lucy smiled through watery eyes and started galloping away from the group. Soon enough, they were on the road and at a full sprint. Her mind replayed the dream and she growled low in her throat as the wind whipped her pale face red.

_I'm coming for you, Brok, and you'll regret ever messing with Fairy Tail._

* * *

_so... yeah. idk what happened here, but i have a feeling that this story will be over soon. ; ; anyways, i actually wanted to ask you lovely readers something:_

_What the hell should I write next?_

_like i totes wanna try StiCy or RoLu or LaLu or even GaLu because I love those crack pairings so mucucucuhchchc! _

_oh and the reason that Lucy and teh other's were freaking out (in case this wasn't clear) is because Mira told them that Erza's peeps hadn't contacted them since they left, so you know, bitches be worryin'. and i made Brok like totally insane because like -insert spoilers about him here- lol you'll find out soon enough. _

**FrostDragonSlayer:** _yes you are._

**Coolgal342:** _well lucky for you, next chapter (or maybe the one after lol - i dont plan well) we'll see the teams interacting. _

**JcL107:** _i'm happy you're liking him - he was a spur-of-the-moment character and i have to admit, i like him as well! even if he is insane._

**SkyiiiLifeee:** _why thank you. _

_i love all of your face's by the way. just thought i'd say that. _


	11. Demons

_uh... here it is! bitches!_

* * *

Lucy carefully slowed down the tired beast beneath her – they had been getting closer and closer to the peak – she was about halfway there. She slowly climbed off of Yumi and winced as her legs turned to absolute jelly. Gritting her teeth, she slowly patted the horse and gave her praise while leading her to the small stream where the young mage had decided they would camp out at – after all, they weren't following the roads. Just a straight shot to the mountain. Sighing, Lucy let Yumi chill while she hobbled over to a tree and sank to the ground against it. She must be getting closer to Natsu because her limbs were aching more than ever.

"Ugh," She moaned as a rock lodged itself against her thigh, and she threw it pitifully towards the stream, only for it to fall near her foot. She leaned against the bark and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of nature. Lucy knew she shouldn't have just ditched her group (especially since she totally forgot her bag) and just thanked her lucky stars that at least it was winter and she had her keys. Then, her brown eyes flew open and she sat up straight, suddenly realizing something that she should have done long ago. She pulled a silver key out of her pouch and stood up, her eyes hardening with a little spark of hope while Brok's voice echoed in her mind.

"_You know how to beat this."_

She gritted her teeth at the memory and thrust the key in front of her.

"Open, Gate of the Southern Cross, Crux!" In a flash, the sleeping cross appeared levitating in front of her. She kneeled down on both knees and sat back on her haunches. "Do you know anything about somebody named Brok?" The "sleeping" sprit cracked open one eye and sighed heavily.

"I only know of people who are connected to celestial spirits or celestial spirit mages, Master." She grimaced at the title, but ignored it.

"That's fine – maybe he was affiliated with someone in the past." The spirit seemed to ignore her comment, because he dozed back off. Furrowing her brows, she leaned back against the tree as Yumi closed her eyes and went still-sleeping-horse-mode. Lucy will never understand how horses could sleep while standing up.

"Master, I have found something." She immediately sat back up and focused on her spirit, who sounded surprisingly alert.

"Crux? What did you find?" The spirit looked uncharacteristically fidgety. Lucy stared hard at him. "Well?"

"It seems that he was involved with…" He trailed off and the young blonde girl just stared. "… With your mother, Layla-sama."

_What?_

* * *

"We can't _beat _them, Gajeel!" Lisanna ground out while dodging yet another dart-like shadow missile. Her limbs were aching and her movements were getting sloppy, and so were her partner's. Gajeel growled and screamed out another attack.

"Iron Dragon's Lance: Demon Logs!" His arm turned into a well-aimed pillar and smashed right through one of the shadows, effectively destroying the building that it had been cast upon. He swore and then returned his arm to normal while rubbing his fist. "Motherfucker." Lisanna grit her teeth.

"We have to retreat!" She shouted while tackling him to the ground to escape a missile that otherwise would've impaled them both in one go. The young girl jumped to her feet. "Animal Soul: Half Bird!" A flash of golden surrounded her and the air swirled slightly, knocking any incoming darts away for the meantime. Gajeel gaped at the half-bird-half-chick standing above him and just continued to gawk as she grabbed him in one of her talons before flying away. Of course, as a goodbye gift, a dart flew right through one of her wings. She hissed, but continued fly until they were at least out of the town. She basically crash-landed into the snow, causing Gajeel to grunt in annoyance. Her spell wore off and her previous cloak replaced itself. Her right arm now had two dart wounds, along with the various scratches and bruises scattered over the rest of her body.

"Idiot." Lisanna muttered as the dragon slayer sat up and shook his head at the crash landing.

"You suck at flying." He commented, and she threw a handful of half-packed snow at him, causing him to grimace.

"Well it's hard to fly when you've got inured wings, jerk." Growling, she leaned over to him and ripped strip of his cloak off, making him frown.

"What the hell?" Gajeel huffed as she inspected the nasty cut on her forearm. Gesturing to him, without actually looking up, she ordered him to wrap up the cut on his shoulder. "I'm fine. I'm not a wimp." She scoffed, but otherwise let him be. She slowly wrapped the cut – it was weird how her take-over anatomy worked. When she turned into the bird and the dart ripped through the thin membrane of her wing, it translated into a deep gash on her forearm, but that was it. Shrugging at her own thoughts, she finished off the wrap with a terribly lopsided, one-handed bow and then fell back on the snow, exhausted and cold.

"We need to find Erza and Alzack soon – they took off with the lacrima." She muttered tiredly. Meanwhile, Gajeel just glared up at the gray sky.

"Yea, whatever."

* * *

Mira stared at the lacrima on the counter, obviously worried. Happy sat on a table while slowly eating his fish half-heartedly, Carla was glaring at her cup of tea and Lily was just "sleeping" on a bench, when the barmaid ran up to them.

"I need to ask you three a favor." She said, and Happy glanced up curiously at her tone.

"What's wrong, Mira?"

"I need you guys to go find Lisanna – I mean… Erza's group. Please. I just want to know they're okay since I haven't heard from them since they left and I'm really worried. Plus, they'll need you all in case something's wrong, okay?"

And without a moment to waste, the three Exceed flew out of the guild while Mira stared at their retreating forms in worry.

"Be okay, please…" She blinked the tears out of her blue eyes. "… Lisanna…"

* * *

It was dark. Where was she?

Her brown eyes opened slowly – what was going on? She heard laughter… no… that wasn't right. Right? She was alone – no! Alzack was with her! Oh god – where was he? She jumped to her feet, only to forget which way was up or down and immediately fell to the ground. Her equilibrium was totally off. She groaned as the massive headache she had pounded against the backs of her eyes. That horribly hollow feeling of being extremely low on magical power radiated through her body, pulsating painfully.

"You know that you couldn't save us, right?"

Knives replaced the blood in her veins. She didn't want to open her eyes and see the face belonging to the voice – she didn't want to _hear _the voice. No. This wasn't real. _He _wasn't _real._

"You're wrong. I'm as real as the memories of you and I – don't tell me you hate me enough to try and forget?" Her eyes flew open at that, the denial stuck firmly on the tip of her tongue, when tears flooded her vision.

"You're not real." She whispered weakly, hating how pathetically squeaky her voice was right now. She sounded like a child begging the monster not to be real – but only she wasn't a child, he wasn't a monster and this was real. A cruel smile twisted his lovable face sadistic and that look didn't suit him.

His child-self flashed in comparison behind her eyelids and the tears streamed down her face.

"Oh, but Erza, I am." He slowly moved closer to her. She backed up until the pounding in her head grew too much and she just stopped and watched him. He crouched right next to her with a malicious gleam in his eye.

She was shaking terribly. "Simon."

* * *

Lucy stared in horror at the spirit. "You're wrong – my mom would never speak to such a monster!" She yelled, glaring at him. He just fell back asleep, ignoring her completely. She instantly changed her tone, reminding herself that he was just the bearer of bad news. "W-wait, Crux, what were they – like, what was their relationship?" His eyes stayed closed as he answered her in his ancient voice.

"They were in love when she was younger, in her teenage years at least. She was your age. That is all I know, Master." She furrowed her brows, completely confused (and absolutely horrified at the idea), but nodded at the spirit.

"Okay, you can go then, Crux. Thank you." She waved the shining silver key and the spirit disappeared. She was left with a hollow feeling. "What am I going to do now?" Lucy leaned back against the tree and tucked her key back into her pouch. Slowly, as her thoughts whirled wildly through her mind, her eyes drifted to a close and she fell into an uneasy (and slightly surprising) sleep.

* * *

He grinned, though it wasn't one she'd want to remember. "Yes. It's me. I would say that I'm happy that you remember me, but, well… I don't really care." Erza stared as he sat back on a seemingly invisible chair – no, wait, there was _something _there – it almost looked like an inky, back throne, blending in with the rest of the ebony surroundings well.

"W-what's going on?" She asked in a broken whisper, and he just grinned.

"Oh, nothing much – just your subconscious fears and nightmares torturing you." His happy smile didn't go well with the sentence. She frowned, rubbing her forehead. "Headache, dear?" Erza shivered, but nodded. "Yes, well, that happens when there's a war going on against your demons and you." She frowned.

"My demons?" She asked, not understanding what he was meaning.

"Your demons. All of the negative thoughts and emotions," He tapped the back of his raven-black clad head, "running around back here. The ones that sprout from 'What if's' and 'Maybes'. And you, my friend, have more than one of those nasty creatures. Which is where I come from," Simon gestured to himself. He answered the question she hadn't actually voiced.

"I'm one of your biggest 'what if's.' 'What if I had saved him?' 'What if I hadn't let him take the blow?' What if I had pushed him out of the way?' Jellal is your number-one biggest 'what if', by the way." He informed her with a smirk. Erza stared in horror.

"You're not Simon." She whispered, hating how weak she sounded. He clucked his tongue at her.

"Oh, Erza. This is what you wanted." Simon said while wagging his finger. She was growing angry.

"No! This isn't what I wanted!" Erza shouted and her voice echoed weirdly in the seemingly endless darkness. His smirk grew bigger.

"It isn't? Because I'm pretty sure you wanted me back. No, wait, that's wrong. You wanted me back so the _guilt _couldgo away. You never really cared for me." She shook her head, scarlet locks flying.

"No! No – _you're wrong. _Simon was my friend – my nakama! I couldn't-,"

"If he was your nakama, you wouldn't have left him locked up in that hell." She didn't seem to notice that he was speaking of himself in third person now.

"_No! _No, no, no, no… no! S-Simon was my friend…" Erza gripped the sides of her head. She was shaking violently.

_I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, Simon, it's all my fault, oh god, Simon…_

The Simon look-alike grinned maliciously and exploded silently into shadows, and the tendrils sank into the inky surroundings. Meanwhile, the re-quip mage sobbed quietly as his smiling, childish face flashed in her mind, all carefree innocence.

"I'm so… I'm sorry…"

* * *

Lucy glared at the man before her. He looked distraught.

"So this is real. You're speaking to me. Through… this dream-speak shit." She said, gesturing at the ivory expanse around her. His silver eyes twinkled with bittersweet amusement, despite the aura of sadness looming around him, and he really didn't look like any type of villain she would find in her horror novels. Weren't they all crazy, booming laughs with, like, dungeons?

"Yes, this is real. I connected with you because it's time I told you what little truth I can." She raised an eyebrow.

"Okay..?"

"Don't speak, let me get this out before the connection severs." Lucy shut her mouth. "Good. So here goes…"

* * *

"Guys," Natsu called as they exited the train. Or, well, three of them exited it, while one flung himself through the door like a madman. Freed glanced at him as he struggled to his feet. "Something's wrong."

The runes mage frowned. "Why do you say that?" Natsu felt that horrible feeling – the same one he felt before Igneel left and before Lisanna's "death".

"It's just a feeling – one that's always been right. Something's wrong. With someone." Cana's face darkened as she pulled a flask out of her small back.

"I hope Lucy's okay…" Juvia murmured. Freed frowned as Natsu just stood there, looking strangely serious.

"Well, we'll find out sooner or later. We've got to hike up to the town where Erza's team is and figure out what's wrong and why they haven't checked in with Mira." The green-haired man instructed while the others nodded.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

Lucy stared at Brok with a mixture of disbelief, horror and resolve. "What? Seriously?" He nodded seriously. "O-okay…" Then, with more confidence, she nodded her head sharply. "Okay. I'll do it. Anything." Then, the dark-skinned man smiled and held out a hand to her. She grasped it in her own.

"We'll meet again soon enough, Lucy Heartfilia, and I'll finish my story." He promised, and she grinned.

"I'll hold you to it, Brok."

And slowly, everything faded into a deep, soothing darkness.

* * *

_Welp, im sorry that this was unbelievably late. Jeez I suck I know. Im all behind on school and shit (just geometry) and blah blah blah –insert stupid shit-. Anyways, ive been on a drawing spree as on late, so blah and like uh… yea I hope you guys liked this one. I think we might be getting close to the end! Ahhhh!_

**Coolgal342: **_weirdly enough, I love seeing my favorite characters in agony. It just is super thrilling to be like "OMG HOW ARE THEY GOING TO GET OUT OF THIS ONE?!" *laughs evilly*. _

**BookProf101: **_I wrote one! Just for you! It's called "The Letter" and it's just a one-shot, but I think I might be working on a series GaLe ff later. _


	12. Buying Time

_uh... plot twist. this took so long to do and im really sorry. uh. yea. i love you all?_

* * *

Gajeel watched the gray sky carefully as the snow drifted from it lazily. He always hated snow – something about it bugged the fuck outta him – but this place was surprisingly peaceful, especially compared to the aftermath of battle. Lisanna was asleep (on his cloak, goddammit) and he was just keeping watch.

It was boring, but peaceful.

Gajeel wasn't one to be concerned about relaxation or beauty sleep or what-the-fuck-ever people did nowadays, but he's always liked those few moments after a particularly dangerous (or in this case, weird) battle when it was just silence.

However, it wasn't silent anymore, because his ears picked up something familiar, but something that shouldn't belong in this place.

Hooves.

His red eyes narrowed and he stiffened at the sound. Who the fuck would be riding a horse through here?

And that's when he saw a familiar bob of flying saffron hair come barreling towards him and Lisanna, so of course he did the logical thing. He cursed violently, picked up the brat and fucking dove sideways, narrowly missing bone-crushing stomps of a heavy-ass beast.

"Bunny girl?!" he growled her name and righted himself, leaving Lisanna stunned and half-asleep, and glared at the celestial mage on the horse who looked incredibly determined. Her jaw was set and her eyebrows were furrowed.

"Gajeel," her voice was surprisingly commanding, "Don't follow me, okay? It's important."

He stood up and glared at her, "What the fuck? No – I'm coming. _We're _coming. Plus, we have to go for Erza and Alzack." Her mouth dropped open a little and she looked horrified. Terrified. Her face dropped the determined look and instantly turned scared – the kind of scared that even chilled Gajeel.

"Erza and Alzack went up there?"

"Yea, why?" she became deathly silent when he said that. Gajeel could hear her heart frantically beating from here – it sounded like she was close to having a heart attack, "Uh, Bunny Girl? You oka-?"

"Open, Gate of the Lion!" she whipped out a golden key and her voice rang out sharp, "Leo!" Instantly, the playboy tackled Gajeel to the ground, startling him.

"What the hell!? Lucy!?" he never used her name, but this was a very special occasion. Gajeel managed to throw Loke off of him – it was weird, like the lion wasn't even trying. The spirit and Lucy shared a very strong look before she cast one last glance at Lisanna (who was now wide awake) and Gajeel. She looked really… really sad.

"Lucy…" Lisanna's whisper carried on the wind and the blonde stiffened in the saddle.

"You know what to do," Lucy said and it took a moment before Gajeel realized she wasn't talking to Lisanna or him – but Loke.

"I know, Princess."

And then he attacked.

* * *

The wind was very cold this high in the sky, Carla decided. The clouds were nipping at her fur and burning her paws and she was accompanied by two surprisingly stoic cats on either side of her. Mount Grajinshoo was in sight and they would be there in, at most, two hours. They had been flying nonstop since they left the guild, and with their flight speed – which was remarkably fast – they were making record time.

That is, until the unexpected happen.

She felt herself falling – the air was whipping faster around her and she had that horribly unfamiliar sensation of losing control. Carla never falls. But this time she did. The young Exceed heard Happy screaming her name and little paws grasping anxiously at her fur when suddenly, she saw nothing.

Carla faded into black.

* * *

"Please, please," he begged, "please let her wake up!" Alzack couldn't bear this anymore – watching her suffer. It'd been so long – at least the whole day, maybe longer – he couldn't tell anymore. Time seemed to be moving so slow here. It was killing him. Erza was the Titania – the strongest of them all. The leader of the pack. Seeing her crying silently and mewling in pain – she wasn't supposed to do this. She can't be put in this position.

Brok raised an eyebrow and smiled a shit-eating grin, "Oh, but my dear Mr. Connell, isn't it fascinating?"

"No!"

He ignored the gun mage, "Seeing her last so long – it's truly inspiring! Nobody has ever lasted this long under my test."

Alzack's face twisted into disgust, "What are you talking about? What test?" Brok smiled at the question.

"I'm glad you asked, dear boy," the older mage walked over to the shuddering Erza and placed a hand on her forehead, making her freeze.

Alzack stilled, fearing the worst, "What did you just do?"

"God, Alzack, man, chill out," Brok removed his hand and rolled his eyes, acting for all the world like an annoyed teenager, "I was just momentarily subsiding her pain so we could speak under… less annoying circumstances." Alzack just stared at the dark-skinned man as he sat back against the wall by Erza, toying with her hair. It kind of pissed him off that the mage was touching his friend, but he let it slide since she was looking so calm now. He slowly relaxed his posture, but stayed stiff and more than a little wary.

"What test?" Alzack repeated the question with a bit more force.

"Well, Alzack, my test is there to help her."

The raven-haired man exploded, "What the _fuck _do you mean by that?! How is this helping her?! Can't you see she's in pain?"

"God, enough with the yelling," Brok flicked his wrist at the mage opposite him and he was pushed by an unseen force into the wall, "let's discuss this like men, Alzack. Anyways, what I mean by that is this;" and he held his hand about six inches from her neck and suddenly she was in pain. She was writhing and screeching and clawing at the wooden floorboards.

"What are you doing!?" Alzack screamed and ran to Erza, falling to his knees by his comrade and watching helplessly as she cried out in pain, "Make it stop, Brok! Stop it!"

"I'm not doing anything." Alzack whipped his head up, disbelieving.

"You're lying, you asshole – help her!"

Brok held up his hands innocently, "That's all I can do, though, Alzack, is help her."

Alzack returned his gaze to the crying Erza and clenched his fists; never in his life had he ever felt so helpless. Not even when half of his guild was trapped on Tenrou Island had he felt so useless.

"What do you mean by that?" he was growling through clenched teeth. He was so close to beating the fuck out of this guy.

Brok's lips twitched in amusement as he set his hand back on Erza's hip, and she suddenly stilled. Her crying ceased completely, though tears still ran from her eyes. "I'm not hurting Erza."

Alzack suddenly felt sick.

"She's hurting herself."

* * *

A scream rang through the air. Natsu's head jerked up at the sound; the voice was eerily familiar.

Lisanna.

The fire mage broke out into a full-out sprint towards the voice, ignoring his team's yells. He ignited his hands behind him and they acted as a propeller, pushing him forward like a rocket. He vaulted over a hill and had a rough landing.

For some reason the ground cursed at him and called him an "ass-wad".

"What the fuck, Salamander!" Gajeel was beneath him, buried in about two feet of snow and currently chomping on ice bits.

"Oh, bolts-for-brains," he offered no apology, but quickly moved off of his fellow slayer and turned to find a ten-foot-deep hole with an angry voice yelling out of it.

"Dammit, Gajeel, get me out of here!" Natsu curiously peaked over the edge, more than surprised to see a familiar head of pure-white hair and an annoyed pout. "Natsu! Help me out of here!" She gestured to her chained wrists which were attached to the earthy ground.

He glanced back over at the recovering Gajeel, "Why is Lisanna in a hole?" Though Gajeel didn't have time to answer, because a fist came out of the ground and quickly wiped at his feet, making the slayer fall back down once more with snow-muffled curses.

"What the-?!" the same happened to Natsu and finally he recognized the odd smells over here.

Lucy's spirits.

But why were they attacking them?

"Hey – stop it! It's Lucy's friends! Fairy Tail!" he tried desperately, but suddenly Virgo was hovering above him with chains in hand and a sad, tired expression on her normally bored face.

"I know," and with that, she quickly restrained him to the earth. He couldn't even budge them.

"What the hell?! What's this about?!" he yelled while bucking in the iron grip and Gajeel just groaned.

"Idiot!"

"Princess needs time," Virgo explained cryptically before diving back into the earth, causing it to shake and making Lisanna squeak.

"Gajeel-kun!" a familiar voice rang out and Natsu saw Gajeel stiffen.

"Juvia – run!" but his words didn't reach her in time, because a familiar flash of orange appeared behind her and smacked her neck rather gently. She went down like a stone - he hit her pressure point dead-on. But that wasn't what shocked Natsu – no. The familiar eyes of his nakama flashed against Natsu's onyx one's and he saw incredible remorse there, but also a steely resolve.

"Loke," he breathed and suddenly he felt very confined. What was going on here? What was Lucy playing at? More so, where _was _Lucy? Why were her spirits attacking them?

More importantly, why did she need time? What did she need it for?

Natsu didn't think before going into battle – that was what he was known for. Rushing in head-first and beating the hell out of everyone; that's what _Natsu does best. _But right now he's being forced to use his mind – forced into using his critical thinking skills and that isn't something he's excels at.

"Dammit," he breathed and closed his dark eyes, trying to focus on something but the biting wind nipping at his exposed skin and the fast-melting snow around him. Something else… something that helps him concentrate.

Lucy's eyes.

The warm chocolate color filled his mind – the kind that screamed home, friendship, hope – he let himself drown in that warmth. It was like swimming in the best ocean – the kind you would happily let swallow you whole. Natsu breathed out, and he didn't seem to realize that he breathed out ten-foot flames, but nonetheless, his chains melted away and all of the snow within in ten-yard radius was nothing but puddles.

Needless to say, everyone was drenched.

He opened his eyes and stood up. Natsu was on fire, literally. The flames were licking up his ankles and clinging to his skin like, well, flames. He held up his fists and they ignited easily.

"Now," he began as the ground rumbled – probably caused by Virgo, "what's going on?" Gajeel managed to get up, albeit he was wincing, and glared at the lion spirit who was now standing between the two. He looked extremely defeated.

"Lucy needed time," he said in a rare use of her actual name. Natsu raised a single pink eyebrow.

"Time for what?" Gajeel interjected. Lisanna was now on the surface of the earth and rubbing her chafed wrists. Apparently Virgo had gotten her out of the hole, because the pink-haired mage was standing not too far behind her.

"Time," he suddenly turned his saddened gaze towards the mountain and Natsu started to feel nauseous, "… Time to defeat Brok."

* * *

_A younger Brok was sprinting towards a falling building that appeared to be on fire. His face was a picture of grief – he had a sheen of sweat on his bare chest and tears were streaking down his cheeks. _

"_NO!" his cry rang out full of heartbreak, "NO! God, please, no!" he dropped to his knees as the building collapsed into a heap of flaming bricks and wooden planks._

"_Layla… Layla…" he was sobbing openly now as another man cloaked in shadows ran up and set a trembling hand on his shoulder._

"_It'll be okay, Brok," the serious voice said consoling._

"_No it won't!" Brok cried into his palms, willing to do anything to make this pain stop. The man crouched next to Brok and smiled a gentle smile._

"_I can help you." Brok scoffed and wiped violently at his eyes._

"_The only way you can help is if you bring my wife back…" he whispered brokenly, "my wife and my baby…"_

_The man squeezed his shoulder, "I can't bring them back, but I can tell you that you'll see them again one day if you come with me."_

_Brok glanced up at him, uncertain and scared of believing in this newfound hope, "What? How?" The man smiled a tired smile and pushed his raven hair out his eyes._

"_People are reincarnated, Brok. It's the way of life. Your daughter and your wife will be brought back to life, one day, I promise," the man said._

_Brok frowned through his tears as the house burned on, "How will I see them again if it is in another life?"_

"_I didn't say it was another life."_

_Brok's frown deepened, "Then what is it?"_

_The man smiled and removed his hand from Brok's shoulder, "Immortality."_

_Brok stilled, "You're lying. Such a thing is myth."_

"_Come with me and I will prove you wrong," Brok couldn't believe this man, could he? The temptation was overwhelming. It was so… so wrong to believe in such a taboo idea. The Council has said that such a spell – such a potion is nonexistent. To do so would be against the law and more importantly, against the law of nature. For one immortal life, another life must be sacrificed for every human lifetime you live. And they even said that even though they have rules and laws in place, it is still impossible._

_And the Council knows best, right?_

"_I… I can't…" he turned to the house and felt an overwhelming sense of loneliness. He was alone in the world. He had no one to live for – no family to provide for. No house to return to._

_No daughter to shower with love and affection._

_No wife to kiss goodnight._

_No more life to live here in Magnolia._

"_It's against the law…"_

_The man smiled, "I know. But laws aren't always right, Brok."_

_Brok frowned, "How do you know my name?"_

"_I know everyone's name."_

"_Are you God?"_

"_Hardly – I'm just someone who wishes to see the future while having experienced the past."_

_Brok stared hard at the man, "What is your name, traveler?"_

_His smile widened, but he looked worn and weary at the same time, "If you come with me, I will tell you." Brok stayed silent for a moment and stared at what was left of his home. His life had gone up in flames and his wife was burned to ashes._

_His unborn child, swept away by fire._

"_I'll come."_

_The man helped Brok stand up and steadied him, "What was your daughter's name?"_

"_Lucy."_

_The man smiled, "A beautiful name." Brok nodded and coughed out a small sob._

"_She would've been the prettiest."_

_They were silent for a few moments as they walked away, "What is your name?"_

_The man smiled and patted Brok on the back, "My name is Zeref."_

Carla jerked awake, coated in sweat and panting heavily. Her vision had rocked her to the core – she was shaking violently. It wasn't even a premonition of the future – no, it was a memory. She just glanced back into the past. More specifically, she just saw Brok's past.

"Carla?" Lily's deep voice rumbled and she realized that he was carrying her in his full-grown form, "Are you okay?"

"Carla!" Happy swooped in over Lily's shoulder and Carla just realized that they were still flying, "Are you okay?!" He literally asked the same thing Lily did, but she ignored it and nodded mutely, still trying to digest what she just saw.

Lucy and her mother are Brok's reincarnated family.

* * *

_i love you all. so much. thank you for not giving up on this story just yet lol.  
so yea, plot twist. i really like those. and cliff-hangers. i like those too.  
and i hate making people blatantly evil, so there's going to be a deliciously interesting history behind brok's character, because let's be honest: the devil's in the details._

**Coolgal342:** _i am a terrible person because i made you wait so long and i love you please don't hate me? anyways i hope you liked this chapter! (and geometry really does suck)_

**SkyiiLifeee:** _ha well we still don't know what he said! muahahah! we'll find that out in the next few chapters!_

**animation art2000-2013:** _lol thank you for your three reviews. well now you know and i hope you liked this chapter! _

_so i hope you guys liked this! i didn't expect it to come out this way but then i was like IT HAS TO HAPPEN LIKE THIS.  
anyways, i am SO SORRY for the late update. i suck.  
AND A LITTLE ADVERTISING: if you like brofics, go check out my gajeel/natsu/gray brofic!1!11! *crickets*_

_i love you all and i want to kiss your faces for sticking with me for so long.  
thank you. seriously._

**_(#FreeEdgar2013)_**


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